Badger
by Gryphon Aerie
Summary: When the Kyuubi attacks Konoha on the night of Naruto's birth, the last remaining member of the Okamoto Clan summons the Badger Boss in defense of the village. The events that unfold that night have unexpected results. Earth-nature Naruto, Badgers.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto franchise, nor any of the other series I will be drawing inspiration from in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction created purely for enjoyment, and no money shall be gained in its production.

With that said, there are several fanfictions out there that delve into the possibility of something other than just the Kyuubi being sealed behind the navel of one Uzumaki Naruto. Therefore, the basic idea of an additional tenant is not of my making. On the other hand, I have yet to see anyone use this particular combination, and found myself inspired.

For those who have been waiting for an update on my other fanfic... I point at the fact that I am trying to get back into the habit of writing again after being sick or exhausted for the last several months. Don't worry, I still have a full outline for the first full book of Magnum Opus sitting on my hard drive (and backed up in the Cloud, should the worst happen), and will get back into writing on that story when I feel more confident again that I can uphold the level of quality I expect of myself on my greater work.

And so, without further ado...

* * *

**BADGER**

**Chapter 01**

* * *

Fugu had woken up that morning with a feeling that today wasn't going to be his lucky day, and coming from a man who had the misfortune of being the last surviving member of the Okamoto Clan of Konoha, and being cursed with a name that literally meant 'bad luck', he knew all about having a bad day. What he had not expected, however, was for this particular day to be 'Giant Bijuu Rampage' bad.

Quickly donning his porcelain badger mask, the ANBU finished securing all of his gear, giving a last look around his otherwise empty clan compound to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. All of the preservation seals that the previous seal masters of his clan had placed around the walled in properties were in working order, and the massive blood seal that Minato Namikaze had placed around the outer wall of the property would keep anyone without the Okamoto Clan Bloodline from entering without his permission, as he was the only one remaining.

"Ittekimasu," Fugu muttered to his empty home.

With a heavy heart, he spent a moment waiting for someone to respond with 'itterrashai', knowing that he would never hear the voices of his family every again. The Second Shinobi War had particularly harsh on his family, and a poison attack that had struck the clan during a family gathering had killed all of the children present, while leaving those survivors barren.

While a successful method of attack, when it had been discovered that a single attack had ended a bloodline several great Clans had banded together, ignoring the dispute of their nations for this one battle, and fell upon the group of Mizu ninja who had designed the attack. While the bloody vengeance had been a good balm on the wounds of their hearts, the Okamoto clan had been sentenced to a slow death.

One by one the remaining members of his clan had died either in battle or by the still lingering effects of the poison. His own manifestation of the Doton (Earth) Chakra bloodline was the strongest that his family had seen since his grandfather had carved the likeness of Hashirama-sama's face into the mountainside overlooking Konoha with a single Jutsu. When it had come time to put Minato's face up as the Yondaime, they had called upon Fugu himself to do the honors, adding it to the faces of the Shodaime and Sandaime that his grandfather had put there before his own death by old age a few short years before the poisoning.

Shaking his head from his musing, Fugu closed the door of the Head of Family's home behind him, glancing around at the other empty buildings that used to house his entire clan as he made his way to the massive wooden gates at the edge of the property. He knew that this was likely the last time he would see this place, as many had died going against the Kyuubi already, and he only hoped that he'd had a change to leave a legacy of his own behind before he died.

Moments after he left through the open gate to his property, the metal banded slabs of hardwood slid shut behind him as if guided by invisible hands, the deep engravings of Fuuinjutsu seals lighting up with chakra as they sealed the property away. If a home had the ability of conscious thought, it would have been sad upon knowing that it would never home a family again, sealed away from the world in a space-time Jutsu that would allow none to enter.

Looking off towards the sounds of distant battle, Fugu felt the unmistakable taint of Youki filling the air with its dark miasma. Even with the Kyuubi's approach slowed by a constant wave of Konoha ninja, nine the massive tails could be seen flailing in the air over the edge of the nearby hills. Although the Yondaime had a plan to defeat the Bijuu, it was up to the loyal men and women of the Ninja Corps to hold the beast off as best they could. If it managed to reach the village, there was no knowing how many lives would be lost before the day was won.

It was in this, that Fugu might be able to grant Konoha one last gift with the power of his clan.

While no Jutsu cast by a Ninja seemed to have any effect on the Bijuu, as it was made entirely of its own malicious Youki Chakra, the toad summons had managed to gain some ground on the beast under the command of Jiraiya the Toad Sannin. Sadly they did not have the summoning abilities of the other two Sannin to call upon, as Tsunade had left a few years ago on bereavement when the last of her own family had died, and Orochimaru was off doing research in another country. Summoning contracts were rare enough that only a few were known to be possessed by any one village, and the Summon Clans themselves were known to be particularly picky about who they allowed to sign their contracts.

As luck would have it, there was one final contract held by a Konoha ninja, long held by the Okamoto clan. It was only with their extreme Doton natured Chakra that they were able to summon the durable members of the Badger Clan, known allies of the Toads. While not as damaging as the Snakes, as agile as the Toads, or possessing the abilities of the Slugs, the Badgers were known to be one of the most durable of the Summon Clans.

One little known fact about the summoning Jutsu was that the durability of the summons was heavily dependent on how much Chakra one was able to push into the Jutsu. That was why it took the most Chakra to summon the Boss of a Clan, as they were by nature the largest and strongest of their kind. With the Doton nature of his clan's bloodline, the Badgers summoned by his clansmen were well known for how long they could stay in combat before being dispelled back into the Summon Realms. In this case, with them going against the destructive ability of the greatest of the Bijuu, they were going to need to push as much Chakra as possible into this summons.

Making his way towards the battle, Fugu leapt from rooftop to rooftop, the full moon overhead giving more than enough light to navigate by as he neared the edge of the village. Using chakra to stick to the slippery roof tiles, the ANBU sent a burst of Chakra through the Chakra Coils in his legs, supercharging the muscles for a brief instant before each leap, propelling him further and faster than he possibly could have by muscle power alone.

Cursing to himself as he reached the outer wall of Konoha, he leapt to the top of the earthen construction, and wall-walked down the outside of the fortification. Ignoring the shouts from the ninja manning the wall, Fugu reminded himself that the Yondaime had ordered the younger generation to keep themselves out of the battle, declaring this an internal issue. Being one of the younger generation himself, the ANBU was supposed to be there manning the wall as well, but he had decided to ignore this order as he had a greater purpose to fulfill that night.

If he had thought the oppressive aura of Youki had been bad in the village, it was much worse as he got closer to its source, the voices of dying ninja now easily distinguished over the sounds of destruction.

Switching from leaping rooftops to leaping tree branches was second nature to the ANBU as he now made his way through the forest on his final approach. His earlier feeling of dread and anticipation seemed to drain from him as a sudden calm filled his being, his mind focusing with brilliant clarity on his last few moments of life. These trees had stood there for generations, ever since the First Hokage had used his Mokuton Jutsu to grow the forest there in a single instant, thus giving the namesake for the Village Hidden Among the Leaves.

Reaching the edge of the destruction, he had to leap from the cover of the trees, landing on the torn up dirt left behind by the massive area attacks of the Kyuubi began, the splintered wooden remains of the forest that had stood there digging into the soles of his sandals. For a brief moment, one of the giant scarlet eyes of the Kyuubi pinned him, freezing him in place as the gigantic fox demon noted his presence. Luckily, its attention was drawn away a moment later as a massive Earth Dragon attack hit it in the side, drawing the beast's attention to the foolish human who had dared attack it.

Taking a quaking breath, Fugu pulled out a handful of Chakra Pills and shoved them in his mouth, quickly taking out a kunai and pricked his thumb just hard enough to draw a bead of blood. As he went through a modified set of hand seals for the summoning technique, lines of ink began to glow all over his body with a pale blue light, a complex Fuuinjutsu activating as he began channeling.

One of the reasons he had taken so long getting to the fight had been the preparation he had taken in drawing this seal on his body, aided by a couple of Earth Clones to draw on the areas he could not reach himself. The design was a secret long held by his clan, created to draw every last drop of Chakra available from the caster for one last Jutsu keyed to the seal. It had been created as a kind of dead-man's switch, that would allow the user to ensure that they would not be held in enemy hands in order to keep clan and village secrets safe, a holdback from the harsher times of the War.

Never before had this seal been used when keyed to a summoning Jutsu, but Fugu had hopes that the extremely strong Doton bloodline he carried, combined with the Chakra Pills he swallowed just as he finished casting it, would give his summons enough durability and power to hold off the Bijuu long enough for the Yondaime to arrive. Taking more than one Chakra Pill at once was known to be fatal, the excess Chakra quickly burning a ninja from the inside out as their Chakra Coils stretched and burst, overflowing with energy it was unable to contain. But Fugu knew he was already going to die, so spending his last few moments of life in indescribably pain as his body ruptured on the inside and burnt like a cinder meant little to him, a smile on his face in spite of the pain as his last sight was a massive cloud of smoke let out when his summoning technique succeeded.

* * *

Hachimitsu was the Boss of the Badger Clan, a massive honey badger whose wide shoulders stood even with the top of the Toad Boss Gamabunta's head. Coming from a summon race where it was normally the male boars traditionally stood at the top of the chain, with the sows following in their stead, she was the first female Badger Boss for a good reason. There wasn't a single Badger in her clan, short of the Badger Sage who had been the Boss before her, who could take her in combat. She could out fight, out eat, and out drink any challenger that came her way.

One of the only things that marred her record as being the best Badger Boss in recent history was the fact that there was only one remaining summoner, the unique requirements of their own summoning requiring a rare density of Doton Chakra hardly ever found amongst their allies in Konoha. Shortly before she had become the Boss, while the previous boss Yuudai had held the honor, most of the names on their contract had faded to gray, the signers having died. When Yuudai had replaced the Badger Sage upon the previous Sage's death, there had been only three signers on the contract.

When she was summoned to battle that night, there was only one signer left, and she appeared in the Ninja Realm just in time to see that good ninja die by the same Jutsu that had summoned her there.

Precious moments past as her dark brown eyes gazed upon the now lifeless body of Fugu Okamoto, a man whose every last drop of super-charged Doton Chakra now filled her summoned body in a way that it had never been before. Confusion and sorrow filled her as she realized that not only had Konoha lost the last of a once great clan, but her own clan has lost its final connection to the world of Ninja, and she wondered what could have possibly driven the foolish ninja to do such a thing.

It was in that moment that she realized that she was not alone, and her dark eyes turned to gaze at the shocked face of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Deep within her chest, a low growl began to fill the night as Hachimitsu saw the source of her loss, making the forest seem to tremble as the earth beneath her clawed feet shook with the force of her fury. Moonlight shone off the silver fur of her back, making the black fur on her sides and bottom seem to disappear into the night, her ivory fangs standing out clearly against the darkness.

In a flurry of movement, the battle started between a furious honey badger and a startled and somewhat anxious fox demon. While the ego of the Kyuubi did not allow it to accept that any creature, be it man or beast, could possibly be its equal, instinct was telling it that going up against an angry badger was not a good idea. The fact that this badger was half its size didn't matter much in this case, as it was literally glowing with earth-natured Chakra, which was going to make it a pain and a half to do any damage to the beast, even with the Kyuubi's own powerful claws and teeth.

Later on the Kyuubi would look back at this moment as one of the more embarrassing times in its long life, right next to those times it had been mind-controlled by the Sharingan. That, and the rabbit incident, but nobody ever dared talk about that one.

* * *

Appearing via Hiraishin in a flash of yellow light, Minato Namikaze stumbled half a step as his senses caught up with his new surroundings. After the fight against the man claiming to be Madara Uchiha, he had hoped that disrupting the man's control of the Kyuubi would have stopped the beast's attack. Sadly, he had underestimated the rage the Bijuu felt after being imprisoned for so long within the women of the Uzumaki line.

Preparing himself for the fight of his life, Minato paused halfway through the hand seals to summon Gamabunta when fully he realized what he was looking at. The trail of destruction left in the Kyuubi's wake had led it to just within view of the massive fortified earthen walls of Konoha, the Sandaime standing at the top of the defenses with the older generation ninjas at his side, ready for the final defense. Further behind them, on the rooftops of some of the closer buildings within town, the Hokage could see several civilian families looking on in terror as well, backlit by the fires created when a Bijuudama attack from the Kyuubi had hit the village earlier.

Looking over to there the Kyuubi's glowing red form stood out against the moonlit hills, his eyes bulged momentarily in disbelief as he noticed the situation the tailed beast had managed to get itself into.

Knowing the ninja of his village as any good Hokage should, Minato immediately realized that the massive honey badger currently locked in mortal combat with the Kyuubi was the summoned animal of the Okamoto clan, of which at this point there was sadly only one member... scratch that, of which there were now no members, he realized upon seeing the lifeless form of Fugu Okamoto lying on the ground next to where he was standing, obvious signs of chakra burns and burnt sealing ink seen on the dead man's visible skin.

Apparently the man had managed to still summon the Badger Boss before the Okamoto Chakra Sacrifice Seal had taken his life, which was impressive in its own right if only for the simple fact that it was normal for a summon to dismiss shortly after its summoner died. Luckily for the people of Konoha the dense Doton Chakra that had been channeled into Hachimitsu was perfect for defense, much in the way that a Doton Bushin was capable of taking much more damage before dispelling. Never before had Minato ever seen a summoned animal literally glow with the excess chakra of their summoning.

Several wounds could be seen even with the thick fur that covered her loose hide as Hachimitsu tangled with the Kyuubi. One lucky strike had hit her over her left eye, causing it to swell shut, and several holes seen through the silver fur on her back glowed red with Youki, in sharp contrast to the glow of the Doton Chakra that had powered her summoning.

By this point, the fight between Fox and Badger had reached a kind of stalemate, with the shorter form of Hachimitsu underneath the body of the Kyuubi. Powerful jaws were locked in place, her ivory teeth latched on to the base of one of the Bijuu's nine tails as it tried to get an angle to attack her with that did not cause it more pain from her bite.

Seeming to realize that there was nothing else to do, the Kyuubi lifted its head to the sky, the massive energy of the Bijuudama forming in its open maw. While it might damage itself in the attack, it would definitely kill the irritating animal chewing on its tail, and allow it to go back to destroying the village.

Upon seeing the black ball of energy beginning to form, Minato cursed himself for getting distracted. Knowing that he would not have enough time to both summon Gamabunta and teleport the Kyuubi and its Bijuudama away from the village, he hoped that the badger would do a good enough job to distract it in the few moments it would take him to channel the energy needed for a Hiraishin of this magnitude.

Realizing that the Kyuubi was as restrained as it could be at the moment, and quite well distracted thanks to the honey badger, Minato decided that he would not need to summon Gamabunta for this fight. Using a quick Shunshin to appear on the back of the Kyuubi, and holding on by channeling Chakra through the soles of his feet for grip, he used the Hiraishin in a method he had never foreseen to teleport himself and both of his massive passengers to his hideout deep within the forested hills outside Konoha.

He had a village to save, and a demon to seal away... no matter the cost.

* * *

Sarutobi stood on the top of the village wall, Enma strapped to his back in staff form, and trembled as he saw the Kyuubi's mouth open up towards the sky, and the massive black ball of yet another Bijuudama begin to form within its maw. They had been lucky so far that Hachimitsu had managed to so thoroughly distract the beast, with only one Bijuudama having struck the village before it was summoned. That is, as lucky as one could be when they had still lost so many lives against the beast.

"Where is Minato?" Sarutobi asked himself, wondering what was taking the Yondaime so long.

Noticing a figure leaping on to the back of the Kyuubi, he immediately recognized the white coat and yellow blond hair of the Yondaime, and felt a moment of relief upon seeing the man finally able to join this battle. Gasps of relief from the ninja around him soon turned to shock as both Fox and Badger suddenly disappeared from sight.

"Minato, did he teleport himself and the nine-tails-" Sarutobi's question was interrupted by a distant flash of light far off in the hills, which was soon followed by a familiar earth shattering boom as the shockwave of the exploding Bijuudama reached them. "Out there!"

Giving a quick command do the forces around him to help the survivors in the village, Sarutobi quickly made his way off the wall and into the forest, burning Chakra through his body to speed his way to where the explosion had just taken place. Trees past by him in a blur, his attention focused on the evil Youki of the Bijuu that he was approaching, preparing himself to assist the man he had chosen to inherit the Hokage Hat.

As he got closer to his destination he saw a strange barrier on top of the hill, quickly realizing that it was being formed by the distinctive Chakra Chains of the Uzumaki Bloodline. The same Chains that had allowed both Mito and Kushina to contain the Bijuu within themselves, which meant that perhaps... No, Kushina did not look in any shape to be able to hold the Kyuubi within herself, as it seemed it was taking the last of her energy to merely hold it in place, her long Chains spearing into the ground behind her, wrapping around the struggling form of the Kyuubi, seeming to ignore the honey badger still clamped on its tail.

Movement catching his eye, Sarutobi noticed Minato kneeling in front of Kushina, the small bundle of cloth lying on the ground between the couple. With trained practice the Sandaime could easily see the hand seals his successor was using, Snake, Boar, Ram, Rabbit, Dog, Rat, Bird, Horse, Snake, followed by Minato slapping his hands together.

"Shiki Fuuin!" Sarutobi gasped. "He moves to seal the Kyuubi with his own death!"

Wishing that he could hear what the two were saying to each other, he could only watch from beyond the Chakra Barrier, helpless to act. He could tell that there was some argument between the blond haired Hokage and his crimson haired wife, but any argument when the Shinigami had already been invoked would be a losing argument for both sides. Once called upon, the Shinigami always took its due.

Noting the arrival of two other Konoha ninja with a terse nod, he kept his attention locked on what happening in front of him. Even the slightest detail might become monumentally important later on, and if the barrier happened to fall, it would be up to him again to defend the village with his life.

"What's happening, Sandaime?" asked one of the new arrivals.

"We're too late, they've already put up a barrier around the Kyuubi," Sarutobi replied, punching the solid wall of Chakra. "Whatever they're doing, they're doing it alone!"

Suddenly the Kyuubi reared its head back in a pained roar, a giant wave of Youki spilling from its form and into the chest of the Yondaime. Seeing final confirmation that he had indeed interpreted the hand seals he had seen correctly, Sarutobi was forced to watch on, powerless to assist.

"It is the Shiki Fuuin," he said to himself. "I can't believe he actually used it!"

"But the fox remains, he didn't seal all of it!" the other Ninja replied. "But it did shrink!"

Unfortunately, it was at the exact moment that it shrunk that Kushina seemed to faint for a moment, the chains binding its form loosening enough for it to attack. Launching its clawed right paw at the insignificant form of the newborn human child they were preparing to seal it into, the Kyuubi tried to end any chance of being reimprisoned. At the same time Hachimitsu resumed her own attack, tearing into the now smaller body of the Kyuubi, doing great damage to it even as the Bijuu managed to pierce the bodied of the two parents as they leapt in the way of its attack.

Thick chakra chains tightened again around the Kyuubi's body, leaving it defenseless even as the Badger Boss continued to tear into it, causing wound all over its body.

On the other side of the barrier Sarutobi at first wondered why the two had gotten in front of the deadly attack instead of dodging, before realizing that the small bundle of cloth was Minato and Kushina's newborn son. Sorrow filled him as he realized that he was watching the last living moments of two friends, and the only moment that their child would spend in their living presence.

Upon seeing Minato summon Gamatachi the Scroll Toad, the Sandiame noticed Minato giving the key to a complex seal to the summon before dismissing it. Upon looking the scene over, he realized exactly what the Yondaime was planning.

"I see," Sarutobi muttered. "He intends to save the village by making his son the new Jinchuuriki!"

With the forms of the Fox and Badger locked together in combat as they were, and Minato focusing on sealing the last of Kushina and his own chakra away in the Eight Trigrams Seal, the grip of the Shinigami was less than discerning, taking hold of both of the massive animals sharing the clearing with them. Realizing a moment too late what was going on, never having even heard of the Shiki Fuuin, it was too late for Hachimitsu to try to escape, and thus she was dragged into the seal with the Kyuubi, the sealing process ending with an almost blinding flash of light.

Moments later the barrier dropped, Kushina no longer alive to keep it active, finally allowing Sarutobi to enter the clearing. Leaping over to the still bodies of Minato and Kushina, he kneeled down and closed their eyes with a gentle hand, sorrow etched into his wrinkled face. Upon hearing the sudden cry of a child, Sarutobi looked over at where the newborn infant lay, the blanket that had bundled it fallen open to reveal the complex seal on his stomach.

"It's fresh," Sarutobi commented, recognizing the seal. "So, Naruto is the new host of the Kyuubi."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto franchise, nor any of the other series I will be drawing inspiration from in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction created purely for enjoyment, and no money shall be gained in its production.

**Author Note:** These next few chapters will deal mostly with the after-effects of Hachimitsu's presence on the night of the Kyuubi's attack.

Also, thank you to those who have reviewed this story, it means a lot to a writer to see people's response to their stories, even if it's just a quick word or two.

**Sett:** (noun) The lair or burrow of a badger.

* * *

**BADGER**

**Chapter 02**

* * *

Little over a month had passed since the night the Kyuubi's rampage had lost them the Yondaime, and yet Sarutobi could still see signs of work being done in the village to rebuild where that single Bijuudama had left a smoking crater where once had stood a residential area. Bodies were still being found as the wreckage was being cleared, and the final death count amongst the civilian population was as of yet unknown, making it hard to believe that they had been rather fortunate with what little damage they had suffered during the attack.

Eyes wandering from the piles of paperwork sitting on his desk, Sarutobi gazed over at the crib that sat in the corner of his office, grateful that for once the infant was asleep. He had almost forgotten how much of a handful his son Asuma was at that age, and could not imagine how he would have been able to handle it without having his ANBU on call.

Soon enough the child would have to be placed in an orphanage, as the continued presence of a child with the Hokage would draw attention that they could ill afford. With the number of children left parentless after the attack people would come to question why this particular child had been chosen to stay with the recently re-instated Sandaime. Iwa in particular would quickly come to the conclusion that the blond haired infant was the son of their hated enemy, the Yellow Flash of Konoha.

While Jiraiya had been named at the boy's godfather, the need for Konoha to maintain its information network was so dire in the face of the threats that the weakened village would be facing over the next few years that there was no possible way that they could keep the Toad Sannin around long enough to care for the child. Besides, if they did have the man watch over Naruto then their enemies would once again come to the right conclusions, with disastrous results.

Giving the child his mother's surname would at least give the boy some small amount of obscurity, as at least the Uzumaki Clan had been rather sizable before Uzushio had been destroyed during the Second Shinobi War, their members now scattered around the world. Only a small handful of people had been aware of how close Kushina and Minato had become, and fewer still had known that she was pregnant with the man's child due to the clever use of Genjutsu.

Tsunade would have been a good caretaker for the infant Jinchuuriki if not for the fact that she had not visited Konoha in years, and wandered enough that even Jiraiya had no idea where she could be at any given time. With everyone that she had lost over the years it was understandable that she would not want to return to a village that was no longer her home, and only reminded her of her loss.

Stopping his hand even as it reached for the comfort of his tobacco pipe, mindful of the presence of an infant in his office, Sarutobi winced as he thought about what the next few years likely had in store for the young boy.

Upon the loudly voiced concerns of the people of Konoha who were not present to know what exactly had happened to the Kyuubi, he had been forced to tell them some of the truth of that had happened that night. It had been his hope that people would recognize the sacrifice that the Yondaime had made, and see the new jailer of the Kyuubi as their living hero, protecting them against the return of the Bijuu with every breath that he took.

Sadly, the uneducated masses had a tendency to come to the wrong conclusions, and the rumor had spread that the infant was none other than the Kyuubi reborn in a weak human shell. Cries for the death of the 'demon child' had been harshly silenced, and the Sandaime had written a law that nobody was to speak of anything linking the young Uzumaki to the Kyuubi in any way. Hopefully this act would give the child a chance to find support in his own generation, even if the older generations held this irrational hate within their hearts.

One of the few good things to come of that disastrous night was that enough people had seen the Badger Boss holding off the demon for long enough for the Yondaime to arrive and take it away into the hills. People were already starting to view the Badger as a strong protective symbol, almost like a guardian animal for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Pendants made from bone or wood etched with Badgers had begun to spring up, many made with inexpert hands as suspicious villagers carved them as tokens of luck to ward off the evil energy of Youki that still lingered in some places.

It was unfortunate that the last signer of the Badger Contract had given his life that night to summon the Badger Boss, since their presence would have given great peace of mind to Ninja and Civilian alike. Even though he had been there in person, the blinding flash as the seal completed had prevented him from knowing the final fate of Hachimitsu, leaving it only known that she had been there until the end, and completely absent once the light had faded.

He had just finished signing a form officially retiring the Badger ANBU mask in honor of the final sacrifice of Fugu Okamoto, as well as authorizing his name to be engraved upon the Hero's Monument in everlasting recognition of what he had done for Konoha. Even though the final fate of Hachimitsu was unknown, Sarutobi had requested for her name to be engraved directly beneath Fugu's, so that Summoner and Summon would be together even in death.

Placing that request on top of the pile of approved forms, the ink still drying on his official stamp of office, he moved on to the next request in the seemingly never ending pile. Moments later a cold anger filled his dark eyes as he read a request from Danzo Shimura to take Naruto in for immediate training as a weapon. Using a quick Katon Jutsu to burn that request into fine ash, followed by a weak Futon to blow the remains into his waste basket, he realized that he was going to have to keep an eye on the old war hawk.

Glancing over at where Naruto lay in his crib, Sarutobi reassured himself that the infant hadn't been disturbed by the Jutsu he had just used nearby. Luck was with him, as the child slept on, a peaceful look on his whisker marked face.

He had been content with his retirement, finally finding a worthy successor for the Hokage hat in the young Namikaze, secure in the fact that he was leaving the Will of Fire in capable hands. It was in these dark moments at night after the sun had set that he sometimes wished that he had been the one to cast the Shiki Fuuin, sacrificing his own life and leaving the fate of Konoha in Minato's hands. Yet here he was, back in the big seat again, and the only decent Ninja who could possibly take over narrowed down do a perverted Toad Sage who was more needed for his information network than his reliability or administration skills, or the missing Slug Princess who seemed to have turned into a drunken and rather unlucky gambler.

And the paperwork never ended.

* * *

Along the southern foot of Mount Myoboku lay a rich land of rolling hills and gentle rivers, shaded by the broad spread of ancient trees whose roots dug deep into the dark soil. Countless generations ago a traveler had come to this land in search of shelter, gaining permission from the Elders of the Toad Clan to settle down and dig the first of many tunnels that would eventually spread out deep beneath the ground there, creating a massive network of tunnels and dens that now stood as the ancestral home of the Badger Clan.

Yuudai was a direct matrilineal descendant of the First Digger, the Badgers tracing lineage in this manner because often the excitement of the mating season made it impossible to know the father of one kit over another, while the mother was always guaranteed. With such a long bloodline all born and raised within the Great Sett it was no shock that he had been chosen to be the Boss all those years ago. For as long as anyone could remember the role had fallen to one of his Line, and many had assumed that it would always be that way.

Upon the death of the previous Badger Sage, Yuudai fulfilled the ancient duty of leaving his duties as Boss behind, and accepting the mantle of Sage himself. Amongst the Badgers it was tradition of the Sages to pass their knowledge on to the new Boss, thus ensuring that the wisdom of their ancestors would be well kept.

Everyone had assumed that he would call on another one of his bloodline to inherit the Boss title, the favorite being his nephew Shigeo. After all, the young Boar had shown great skill in battle when he had led a small Cete of followers in a campaign to clear their western borders of enemy Snakes who had begun to encroaching on their lands. However, while others looked to Shigeo and saw his strong body and fearless attitude, Yuudai instead saw a young Boar who was short in temper and lacking in respect for the world around him, unable to see past the end of his own nose, or think past the end of his next battle.

When Yuudai had instead named Hachimitsu as the new Boss many had been shocked, not only because he had given the title to one of the Honey Badger family, but also because he had named a Sow as the new leader of their Clan. Never before had a female Boss been chosen, least of all for the fact that they were usually a third smaller than their male brethren, and the Boss was often called upon most in defense of their Allies.

Upon recovering from this shock, Shigeo had taken it upon himself to issue challenge for the title, as was the right of any Badger that thought that their Boss was not fit for the title. Having never before seen her in person, he relied upon the fact that he was one of the largest and strongest of the European Badger family, second only to the unequalled mass of his Uncle Yuudai.

In combat between Badgers it often ended up being a challenge of pure endurance and mass, as the two combatants fought for the dominant stance in an effort to wear out their opponent until they no longer had the energy to fight back. Challenges took place within a dirt arena, where the dry soil often got kicked up in massive clouds of dust that clung to the noses and fur of the fighters, sweltering them and making it hard to breathe.

When Shigeo had entered the arena opposite of Hachimitsu, the confidence in his swagger had faltered when he saw his opponent for the first time. Unlike his own black and white stripped face, she had a face of pure black, topped by a silvery pelt that ran the entire length of her back, seeming to float in the half darkness of the dimly lit arena.

Abnormally massive for a Honey Badger, and indisputably the largest Sow that had ever been recorded, her impressive size had come as quite the shock to the normally self confident Boar. This difference in size was only underlined when she stood up on her hind legs to observe him from across the dirt bowl that lay between them, a tower of muscle and bone wrapped in fur.

Knowing that there was no way that he could back out of the challenge without losing face, the young Boar had no choice but to continue out into the middle of the arena, putting as much of a confident swagger into his walk as possible.

After the dust cloud had finally settled, any arguments over her abilities as the Badger Boss had died a quick and quiet death, and she had led them well up until her disappearance on the Night of the Kyuubi. Now that a full lunar cycle had passed, there were once again rumblings on who would lead their Clan in her stead, as they could not afford the weakness of remaining leaderless.

It was for this reason that Yuudai found himself once again in the Room of Records, deep within the very heart of the Sett. This massive chamber had stood for generations as a repository for all the written records of the entire Clan, a wooden honeycomb covering the walls stuffed with rolls of parchment and vellum. Nose filled with the warring scents of lanolin coming from the scrolls and melting bee's wax from the numerous candles lighting the room, the Sage exclaimed in relief when he finally found the document he had been searching for.

Laying the heavy roll of parchment upon a low-slung table next to a massive stoneware mug, he rolled it open and began to read, light glinting off the silver frames of his reading glasses.

While still unsure as to what had happened after Hachimitsu had been summoned, it was by now common knowledge around the Sett that the final summoner on their contract had died, leaving them without a summoner. What more, Yuudai had spoken to the Toad Sage and discovered that Gamatachi the Scroll Toad had seen her locked in battle with the Kyuubi when the sealing had been completed. Unfortunately the Toad had been dismissed back to Mount Myoboku just as the seal had completed, and had been unable witness the aftermath, thus leaving the true fate of the Badger Boss unknown.

Fortunately, this scroll contained a record of a previous time in history when they had been without a signer on the summoning contract, forcing the Badger Boss of that time to go upon a long journey in disguise to find one worthy of their Clan's alliance. It had been Yuudai's own grandfather that had gone upon that journey, finally running across a young man named Yuri Okamoto who had just settled down to help build a village by the name of Konoha. Upon seeing the young man's honest and hardworking nature, and his ability to make the very Earth itself move to his will, the young Okamoto clansman had become the first of his line to sign their names upon the Badger contract. A tradition that had, sadly, ended with the life of Fugu Okamoto when he had used a forbidden clan technique to sacrifice himself to summon Hachimitsu in defense of his homeland.

Shaking himself from that morose thought, Yuudai noted that this did set a clear precedent as to how this exact situation could be handled. Any further reading, however, was interrupted when another figure stomped into the wood paneled room, the sound of their heavy steps echoing within the chamber.

"Enough of this foolishness, Uncle," growled the deep voice of his nephew Shigeo. "We have now been without a proper Boss for an entire Moon now, and rumor has it the Snakes are already planning to take advantage of our weakness. It is time we elected a new Boss."

Looking at his impetuous nephew over the silver rims of his glasses, Yuudai studied the boy's aggressive stance, wondering again where his little sister had gone so wrong in raising the kit where he thought he could speak to the Badger Sage in such a manner. Clearly the young Boar had not inherited his brains from his mother's side.

"I see," Yuudai nodded, reaching up a careful hand to remove his glasses, careful not to scratch the lenses with his sharp claws. "I assume then that you have a suggestion as to who would be best to lead us in these trying times?"

"Of course," the youth said, seeming to swell with pride within his fur. "It should be obvious that we should chose the strongest warrior amongst the Clan to lead us, as our ability to defend our lands is only as strong as the shoulders that bear this responsibility."

"Wise words," Yuudai agreed. "But is it not also true that a sharp mind and keen intellect also necessary, in order to lead our Clan outside of battle?"

"Absolutely," Shigeo agreed. "This I learned well from you, Uncle, and you will note that I have been very studious as of late in my studies, learning from those that came before us."

"If 'as of late' you mean since Hachimitsu was summoned from our midst," Yuudai said, turning to face the younger Badger. "Do not assume that I am unaware of the fact that you have long coveted the honor of her title, or the whispers shared within the low tunnels of the Sett with those who would share in your privileges."

"I don't know what you're talking about," his nephew countered, covering his guilt with anger.

"You need not worry about the fate of our Clan, nephew," he told him, changing the course of the conversation midstream. "I agree that it is indeed one of our Family that shall lead the Badger Clan during these troubling times. Indeed it shall be the strongest of our warriors who shall bear this burden, possessing a sharp mind and keen intellect as needed..."

If possible, the young Boar seemed to become even fuller of himself as he assumed that his Uncle had finally come to his senses about this whole unsettling matter.

"Therefore I shall stand as Steward of the Badgers until she returns."

"WHAT?!" Shigeo snapped, stumbling back a half step.

"The precedent is quite clear in our records, young Kit," Yuudai stated. "When the last signature on the Contract faded, leaving us without a Summoner, it is the duty of the Badger Boss to leave the safety of these lands in search of someone worthy of our Alliance. While this sacred duty is being fulfilled they remain our Boss, and thus honor would require nothing less than for us to continue on in their absence. In this case, a Steward shall carry out the duties normally fulfilled by the Boss within our Sett, keeping the Clans ready for the Boss' return."

"You cannot be serious," his nephew snapped at him. "She was fighting against the Kyuubi, the strongest of the Bijuu, and never returned! If she had been alive, she would have been de-summoned back to our Sett once the battle was done, and since she is still gone we have to assume she is dead!"

"She is most certainly not dead," the elder Badger stated. "Her mug remains unbroken, meaning that she remains unbroken."

Each Badger went through the same ceremony upon reaching adulthood where they were taken to a sacred underground stream that lay deep beneath their Sett, where special clay that lined the shoreline was taken and crafted into the shape of a mug. Seals were carved into the clay while it was still soft, and the chakra of the Badger was channeled into this seal array, instantly turning it into stoneware. These mugs would remain clean and unbroken for as long as the life energies of the Badge continued to flow, an echo of their spirit body and mind energies channeled through this intricate web of space time seals reinforcing its shape.

When a Badger died, their mug would turn back into clay, although dry from years of being impervious. This clay would in turn be taken back to the edge of that sacred underground spring, returned to whence it came.

For Hachimitsu's mug to remain unbroken was a clear sign that she was in fact alive, though beyond their reach for the time being. Yuudai had a suspicion as to how this might have occurred, though for now he was left with nothing but theory until they got their claws on more concrete information.

"Unacceptable!" Shigeo snapped, irate at this 'excuse'. "We can't just sit around on our hindquarters waiting for a some stupid dead Sow to return!"

Pain filled Shigeo's head as a massive clawed paw slammed into his snout, knocking him flying across the room into the sturdy wood honeycomb of the far wall. Shaking his head in a daze, the hotheaded Boar got back on his feet and turned to face his attacker, a deep growl building up within his chest. In the back of his mind he could not imagine how his foolish uncle thought he could take on a battle tested warrior at the peak of health, forgetting for that brief moment exactly how it was that Yuudai had become the Badger Sage.

It was in that next brief moment that he remembered why Yuudai's name what still whispered to young Snake hatchlings as a warning not to go wondering alone at night. Although his snout had turned silver and he needed glasses to read by, the Badger Sage was the product of his age, the time of the Great Shinobi Wars when Ninja and Summon pitted against each other in an all out battle for survival.

Seeming to shake off his age like a dusting of snow off a thick winter coat, the elder Badger stood rock steady on the far side of the room, eyes glowing from within with an unholy light. It was not Yuudai the Scholar that stood before him now, nor was it Yuudai the Patient. In his place once more stood Yuudai the Conqueror, who had driven the Snakes into retreat upon killing the father of Manda, and continued to slaughter those too slow to escape his wrath even as they fled for their lives.

"I will not have one of my own Blood speak ill of Hachimitsu while I still hold breath," Yuudai spoke, his previously soft voice now causing the flames of the candles to shake with its strength. "It is only the love I hold for my sister that I do not strike her son down for what you just said in my presence. If your mother ever heard you speak ill of her good friend in such a matter she might just spare me the effort and take you out of the world she brought you in to."

Trying his best to ignore the trembling of his limbs, the young Boar stood wide-eyed as he realized how thoroughly he had messed things up. It had all seemed to clear in his head when he had imagined how this conversation was going to go, how he could show up and impress upon his Uncle how they needed to make him the new Boss, and of course without that blasted Honey Badger in the way anymore there would be nobody strong enough to challenge him.

In his youthful exuberance, he had forgotten that while he was one of the strongest of his generation, he was not the strongest in his Clan.

"Now, you can either accept this, or..." Yuudai trailed off.

"O-or?"

"You can challenge me," Yuudai said, baring teeth that seemed a bit too long and sharp for a Badger of his advanced age. "Though if you do, I will do my best to console the sad widows left behind in your sudden absence."

A moment of tense silence stretched between the two.

"I am sure that you will be a strong and wise Steward until she returns," Shigeo gulped.

"I thought you would see it that way," Yuudai nodded. "Now go, my Nephew, and advise the Elders that they are needed for an immediate meeting. It is time for me to discuss with them what has occurred, and the path that lies ahead."

Nodding to his uncle, and sparing a glance for the no longer innocuous stoneware mug laying on the low table, the younger Badger made his way along the edge of the room, the fur on his far side brushing against the ends of scrolls jutting from the wooden honeycomb as he kept as much distance between his Uncle and himself as he made his way to the door. Deep thoughts ran through his head as he all but fled the room, the warrior realizing for the first time in his life that his Uncle had made the right decision in choosing someone other than himself to become the Boss.

Time would tell if this message stuck.

* * *

Deep within the Eight Trigrams Seal a furry body began to stir, weakened as it was even after a month had passed since the Shiki Fuuin had sent it into the seal. Undeveloped as Naruto's infant mind still was, the only solidly visible things in the mindscape were the large bars that contained his prisoners, the large paper on the outside representing the seal that bound them there. Beyond their cage lay darkness, and the merest hint of unformed tunnels leading off to the Uzumaki's developing Chakra Coils.

Hachimitsu awoke slowly in this strange Sett, shaking her head in an attempt to rid herself of the cobwebs that seemed to be filling it before rolling drunkenly onto her paws. Blinking her one good eye, the left still swollen shut from the claw marks running down that side of her face, the massive honey badger inspected her surroundings, her gaze immediately drawn to the bars standing nearby.

Sore and still heavily wounded from her battle with the Kyuubi, she took a moment to twist her head around and lick at the worst of her wounds before giving any closer of an inspection. Drained of most of her chakra during the sealing, she sent what little she still had to work with through her tongue, using her saliva as a medium for medical chakra. It would take a long time for these wounds to fully heal, infused as they were with the poisonous Youki left behind by the Kyuubi's attacks, but unless she tended to them soon it was possible that she could still die from the damage inflicted upon her.

Startled by a sudden sound from behind her, Hachimitsu spun her body around to face the unexpected threat, wide shoulders hunkering down and bringing her head close to the ground. Seeing a mass of red-orange fur in the far corner of the enclosure caused her to bare her fangs, a familiar rumbling roar beginning to form deep within her chest before she realized the state of her apparent enemy. Blinking her one good eye in surprise and falling back to sit on her haunches, she realized that her apparent enemy was in no shake to even notice her.

While she had managed to end up being sealed more or less intact, ignoring the wounds still glowing with pockets of crimson red Youki, the act of tearing the Yin Chakra from the Kyuubi had done immense damage to the otherwise seemingly invulnerable Kitsune. Although it had not been as noticeable in the mortal realm, the only apparent change then being its loss of size, within the mindscape the damage was easily visible.

If a being made of pure energy could be considered nearly indestructible, it had to be said that ripping that energy in half would have about the same effect on it that being beaten half to death would on any mortal creature. Huge rending tears and gaping holes could be seen in the Kyuubi's once pristine hide, entire chunks of the red-orange fur missing, and the Bijuu's breathing was visibly weak and labored.

Although the Bijuu were often understood to be made of pure Chakra, the true definition was that they were Chakra Constructs, a framework of energy that generated and channeled the seemingly endless supply of Youki much like any Ninja generated Chakra within their own coils. It was for this reason that the Bijuu were considered indestructible, as even if their energy was dispersed, the pattern would naturally reconstruct itself, and the Bijuu take form once again as it began generating Youki to give it form.

Thus, even though the entire Yang half of the Kyuubi was sealed within the infant Uzumaki, the actual chakra being generated by the tailed beast was almost nonexistent at this point. Without any chakra to spare, even the great Kyuubi no Kitsune could not heal itself of its current wounds, let alone spare energy in an attack against the Badger it was now sharing a prison with.

After taking a moment to calm herself down, Hachimitsu turned her mind to contemplate what was going on, quickly coming to the realization that she had somehow fallen victim to the technique that had been used to seal the Kyuubi away. Although she considered herself a mere novice in the arts of Fuuinjutsu, those studies requiring more patience and scholarly dedication than she could muster as a kit, she was conversant enough in the Arts of Sealing to have at least a broad concept of what had happened.

Gamabunta had loved to brag about the sealing abilities of his subordinates whenever she had come by to visit the Toad Summons at Mount Myoboku to trade snake skins for pipe weed. Their mutual dislike for the Snake Clan of summons and equal enjoyment of smoking their pipes had given the two Bosses some small common ground to form a passable friendship several years ago.

Normally a summoned creature was nothing more than an energy construct themselves, given form in that reality by the Chakra sacrificed by their summoner, and called by the blood that matched the signature on their contract. Like the Bijuu they would disappear when damaged enough, though in their case to return back to the Summon Realm to heal the sympathetic wounds that passed back with them upon their return.

In this case though, the limitless reach of the Shinigami had managed to pull her, body and all, into the Eight Trigrams Seal. Without having her body anchored as it had been to the Summon Realm, she could not simply dismiss herself and return to her Sett. This was her new home, her new prison, potentially for the rest of the new Jinchuuriki's life.

Shaking her wide head, Hachimitsu gazed over at the battered form of the Kyuubi, wondering where this was going to lead them to. Eventually exhaustion won out, the energy required to heal her wounds taking its toll on her as the lid of her right eye became heavier, finally closing in sleep. Thus it was that she did not see the strange reaction of the seal as it continued to slowly filter the energy it contained out into the slowly developing Chakra Coils of infant Naruto.

While the Eight Trigrams Seal was one of the more complex Seals ever made, Fuuinjutsu was still more of an art than a science. When met with the Yang Chakra of two inhabitants instead of one, the seal still tried to react as it had been designed to for a single source of Chakra held within it, inextricably binding the two life forces together as it continued its slow trickling feed into the newest Jinchuuriki.

Within the healing wounds of the Badger Boss, the remaining Youki infused within them began to slowly bleed through her Chakra Coils and out into the seal matrix. Although starting out slow, the effects of this bleed through would be felt in the Elemental Nations in the years to come, and cause a reaction that perhaps not even the Rikudo Sennin could have predicted.

But for now they slept, Bijuu, Badger, and Jinchuuriki alike.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto franchise, nor any of the other series I will be drawing inspiration from in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction created purely for enjoyment, and no money shall be gained in its production.

**Author Note:** I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect, and therefore do not have a photographic memory regarding all things Naruto. With that said, expect some things to not be quite canon, but if something just seems entirely inaccurate and out of place please let me know, I am not above revising if needs be.

Again, thanks to all of those who have begun to read this story, I hope we all have fun with where this is going.

* * *

**BADGER**

**Chapter 03**

* * *

It was four now years after the attack of the Kyuubi, and a great celebration was taking place in the streets of Konoha, merchants from all across the Elemental Nations had shown up during the previous week in hopes of selling their wares during the festival. Temporary shelters now lined the main streets, built of wooden poles and heavy canvas cloth to block out the occasional light fall rain, tables set out laden with all matter of goods and knick knacks.

Every year the festival seemed to get larger and larger, partially due to the fact that it was now a familiar addition to their calendars, and more due to the fact that the economy of Konoha was much better than it had been in those few previous years just after the attack. With the civilians more comfortable with their finances, and no longer feeling the pinch of the recovery effort after the attack, this year's celebration promised to be spectacular.

However, a dark undercurrent was tainting the population of Konoha. Only a few months ago the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru, had been confronted by the Third Hokage when the man's twisted experiments had been discovered. Since the Slug Sannin Tsunade had left, and Jiraiya was only rarely seen in town during his wanderings, the number of Legendary Ninja was now at an all time low.

Jiraiya himself had been called back into town on the orders of Sarutobi in order to be seen during the festival to help boost both civilian and ninja morale. Since the festival was a time of high emotion, and was being held so soon after the snake Sannin's betrayal, it would be good for the people of Konoha to see a reminder of a brighter past.

Wandering the crowded streets, the white-haired Toad Sannin was idly moving from stall to stall to see what was for sale. Some of the oddest things could be found offered during these large celebrations, brought in from all corners of the world, and a sharp eye could often find unexpected treasures there. Doing his best to not pay attention to the whispers and pointing of the people around him as they noticed his presence, he stopped at a large booth selling stuffed animals.

Notably absent were the stuffed snakes he had seen last year, and numerous were the honorable stuffed frogs and toads, the occasional slug, and an impressively large number of badgers of different sizes and breeds. Smiling to himself upon spotting a massive stuffed honey badger against the back wall of the booth, he imagined a small child trying to stretch their arms around it in a hug, unable to touch their fingers together on the far side. It was hard to imagine anyone buying a stuffed animal that big, but who knew what some crazy civilian might do.

Shaking his head, Jiraiya left the stuffed animal booth behind, continuing down the street. Eventually, as it always seemed to, his wanderings led him to a nearby bar filled with the sounds of friendly shouting and laughter. Trained senses noticed a few civilian women dressed in a very relaxed manner hanging out with the patrons, bringing a massive smile to the professed pervert's face. Decision made, he walked over to take a spot on one of the few empty stools at the bar, catching the bartender's attention for a drink.

One drunken conversation in the corner of the room managed to catch the Sannin's attention just as a warm jug of Sake was set in front of him in exchange for the handful of ryo he had set down. Over in the corner of the open-front bar, next to the alleyway at its side, two ninja were trying to one up each other telling humorous facts about how amazing the Badger Summons were. Ever since it became common knowledge that without the help of Hachimitsu the Boss Badger, the Kyuubi might have reached the village itself, wreaking unknown devastation upon them.

"I hear that when Hachimitsu stands up, she's not pushing her body up, she's pushing the earth down," said one Jounin to the other.

"Is that right?" the second Jounin replied. "Well I hear that while us Ninja can walk on water, Hachimitsu can swim through the earth."

"It's said that the Shinigami once had a near-Hachimitsu experience," the first one countered.

It was at that moment that Jiraiya broke in on the conversation.

"Actually, you're right," Jiraiya told the first Jounin, sitting down at the table with his bottle of Sake. "When the Yondaime confronted the Kyuubi, he had to call on the Shinigami itself, and at the time Hachimitsu had her jaws locked onto the base of the Bijuu's tail."

"So..."

"Yes," Jiraiya nodded. "The Shinigami did have a near-Hachimitsu experience."

"Hey, wait, aren't you Jiraiya, the Toad Sannin?" the second Jounin asked, realizing who had just sat down with them. "I bet you know lots of things about the Badger Boss, right?"

"As a matter of fact," Jiraiya grinned, warming to the subject. "My Toad summons happen to live right next to the Badgers in the summon world, and I've heard a thing or two about their neighbors over the years. I might be willing to tell you some things, at least until my Sake runs out."

Quickly signaling to a waitress to bring their new friend another bottle of Sake, the two Jounin leaned forward in their seats in order to hear him better. While it might cost them some drink money then, if they got some good stories from the Sannin then they wouldn't have to pay for their own drinks for months!

Gracefully accepting the new bottle of Sake, Jiraiya leaned forward himself, and began to tell him some of his favorite stories about the Badger Clan.

* * *

Anko Mitarashi was miserable.

No, to call it miserable would be to understate how unbelievably horrible things were suddenly going in her life over the last few months. The sixteen year old had gone from being the promising Chuunin student of one of the Sannin, well respected due to the skill she had developed, to her new status as a pariah.

Ever since Orochimaru had betrayed Konoha, forced to flee by the Third Hokage after Sarutobi had discovered the lows that the Snake Sannin had reached in the name of experimentation, the people of Konoha saw only his betrayal when they looked at her. Whispers always followed her as civilian and ninja alike wondered aloud how long it would be until she left and rejoined her 'master' in exile, never realizing that she had been just as betrayed as they had, if not worse.

She had trusted him, looked up to him, and believed him to be the greatest of all Ninja. Following in his footsteps she saw herself as being the next great Kunoichi of Konoha, the new Snake Mistress, heir to his legacy. With the power and skills that only he could grant her, she could have been one of the sword arms that protected Konoha from all who would wish to poison it.

Now, she was the Snake Whore.

Giving in to a moment of weakness that she would never allow herself around others, a lone tear fell down her face as she walked through the narrow alleyways of Konoha. While everyone else was having fun with the festival, celebrating the defeat of the Kyuubi, she was left to wander the back alleyways alone, doing her best not to be seen by anyone else, lest she feel the now familiar sting of their hurtful words.

Reaching the end of this alleyway, she peered out of the shadows with pupil-less light brown eyes, inherited from a family that she had never met before becoming an orphan. Temporary shops of wood and canvas lined this street on either side, smiling people stopping at them on their way from one party to another, ryo exchanging hands like water as the people moved on, poorer in money but richer in life.

After a few moments of lingering, her ears caught the sounds of an interesting conversation over the din of noise around her. She had apparently stopped at the mouth of an alley next to one of the numerous open-front bars, the noise of drunken talking mixing with the clink and clatter of bottles and mugs. One table, closest to the alley itself, was holding a party of three ninja, just visible over a half-wall that was normally boarded over after closing.

Two of the ninja were currently sitting in rapt attention, drinks forgotten in their hands as they listened in on the words of 'wisdom' coming from the third member of their little party. Sitting across from them was a man that she quickly recognized as being Jiraiya of the Sanin, the 'eternal rival' to that bastard Orochimaru.

Her strongest memories of the white-haired Sannin at this point where when he had drawn the Evil Suppression seal to hold back the Seal of Heaven that Orochimaru had left on the side of her neck. While she could tell that he was suspicious of her himself, there had been an almost unfamiliar look of sympathy in his eyes, mirrored only by the Sandaime himself.

Deciding to listen to what he was telling the other two men, Anko settled herself in the shadows at the bottom of that half-wall, sitting down and hugging her knees to her chest.

"So then Besshimaru, the second-in-command to Manda the Snake Boss, decides that he's had enough of being bossed around by some Badger, right?" Jiraiya said, obviously more than a little drunk. "Bites her right on the face, trying to get as much of his venom into her as he can to kill her quick, knowing that if she gets a good lock on him with her jaws he's done for. He might be one of the biggest of the Snake Clan, only second to Manda himself, but Hachimitsu is huge! Like, Gamabunta huge even, right?"

Nodding, the two wide-eyed Jounin wordlessly agreed, and Jiraiya continued.

"What that snake bastard forgot was that Badgers got big old clawed hands, and lots of sharp pointy teeth in their mouths. If he had just bitten her and then tried to get away and wait for the poison to take effect, he might have even won, but he wasn't that smart. The next thing he knows she has her jaws locked around him in a death grip, crushing the life out of him, blood everywhere and his body thrashing about. Turns out her bite got him good, as it broke his spine just a bit after his head, and was doing a good job of choking the breath out of him at the same time... huh, my bottle is empty again, how did that happen?"

With a quick muttered conversation, a new bottle was placed in Jiraiya's hands, the waitress walking away with the empty and a few Ryo from one of the Jounin.

"Where was I?" Jiraiya asked.

"Snake with broken neck, choking," Jounin One urged.

"Ah, right," the Sannin said, taking a quick drink to wet his throat. "So by the time the venom kicked in and Hachimitsu stopped moving, Besshimaru was already done for, robbing Manda of his best subordinate. Poor Hachimitsu looked to be done for with that much venom inside her, and Gamabunta was just starting to wonder if he should start her last rites, when she suddenly got back up again as if nothing had happened!"

"What, how?!" Jounin Two demanded.

"Heck, it would take more than deadly toxin from a giant Inland Taipan to drop the Badger Boss," he answered. "Remember that Hachimitsu is a Honey Badger, and those guys can ignore just about anything that tries to kill them. When she woke up she stumbled a bit like she was drunk, then asked Gamabunta if he wanted to skin the snake before she started eating it. Gamabunta was rather proud of the new purse he made for his wife, and he made sure everyone knew whose skin it was made from too."

Smiling to herself for the first time since the betrayal, Anko imagined the look on Manda's snake face when he found out that his second in command had been eaten, and his skin turned into a purse for some lady-toad. Briefly allowing her mind to wander as she imagined Orochimaru summoning his snakes, only for a whole bunch of Badgers to show up and start eating them, she wished she knew someone that had signed that summoning contract so she could ask them to help her take out her treacherous ex-mentor. Maybe if she took part in killing him, people would stop thinking that she was still loyal to that bastard.

Sadly, with the last known signer of the Badger Contract dead, there was little possibility she would ever gain their help.

Looking up, Anko noticed a nearby shop selling stuffed animals, a massive fluffy-furred honey badger stuffed animal leaning in the back of the shop with a price tag hanging from its ear. Filled with her new love for badgers, she pulled out her meager wallet and counted how much money she had to spend. If she cut into her Dango fund, she should just be able to make ends meet before her next C-rank mission. Although the thought of cutting herself down to only one serving of Dango a day was a mighty sacrifice, she couldn't imagine going home without her own plush Hachimitsu that night.

Standing up and performing a quick Henge into a nondescript middle-aged man, she walked across the street to the booth of the stuffed animal salesman. With a quick lie that 'he' was buying it for his daughter, he walked away with a much lighter wallet, weighed down with a giant stuffed honey badger plushy that her sixteen year old arms barely fit around.

That night, Anko went to bed in her small run-down apartment, her body dwarfed by the massive plushy, a smile on her sleeping face. Hachimitsu appeared in her dreams, eating the snakes that had been haunting her nightmares, giving her the best night's sleep she'd had in over two months.

* * *

Elsewhere in Konoha someone else was also being introduced to the idea that Badgers were 'made of awesome' as young Naruto watched a puppet show reenacting the battle between the Kyuubi and Hachimitsu.

Heeding his own advice that the citizens needed to see a reminder of the strength of Konoha, Sarutobi had decided to drop by the orphanage and invite all of the children to join him in watching a puppet show being held for the festival. While the same reasons still stood that he could not be seen paying special attention to the young Uzumaki lest it give clue to the boy's true heritage, this concern was cleverly bypassed by inviting all of the children of the orphanage at once.

An area had been cleared beside the Ninja Academy, normally filled with targets and training dummies for the students to practice on, and a large temporary stage set up for the show. Chairs normally used in the classrooms were put to good use as children of all ages sat in rapt attention, eyes wide in wonder of the spectacle that was taking place in front of them.

Sarutobi had sent a letter to the Kazekage requesting the services of a team of puppeteers to put on this very show, paying for the B-Ranked mission from his own family account. While it was often frowned upon for a village to actively hire ninja from a foreign village, Suna had been long allies of Konoha, and their puppeteers were unrivaled by any of the other Elemental Nations.

Under the watchful gaze of not only the Hokage, but a large number of ANBU, these puppeteers manipulated the actors of this drama with skillful use of chakra strings, while another member of their troupe concentrated on a weak Genjutsu to set the backdrop on the stage. While too weak to fool any skilled ninja, the illusion gave the impression that the puppets were standing in a miniature forest, adding a level of realism that easily drew the children's imagination.

First to appear was the giant orange-furred Kyuubi puppet, easily as tall as a grown man even while on all fours, its nine impressive tails waving in the air behind it suspended on invisible chakra strings. A masterpiece of both puppetry and taxidermy, it brought back dark memories from four years previous, where Sarutobi had witnessed this battle with his own eyes.

Music began to play from behind the stage as the children gasped upon seeing the 'Kyuubi' for the first time as dozens of hand sized 'ninja' attacked their seemingly massive foe. Clever use of pyrotechnics and stage magic, backed up by an impressively minimal use of Genjutsu, allowed wave after wave of black clad ninja to throw themselves against the unrelenting attack of the Bijuu.

Wincing as memories of that night invaded his mind, the Hokage watched as those unfortunate ninja threw themselves against the relentless fox, their bodies tumbling lifelessly to the painted wooden floor of the stage as teeth, tail, and claw struck them down. While painful to watch, this puppet show would act as a very clever history lesson to the group of wide-eyed children that sat around him.

Behind the puppets the background scenery slowly shifted from left to right, showing how the battle had continued to move closer and closer to the village even as the older generation of ninja threw themselves against the might of the Kyuubi in a vain effort to slow its advance. Rolling in silently from the left came a painted wooden model of the giant earthen walls of the village, several more hand sized ninja puppets appeared to man the top of this final defense.

"Is that you?" asked a small voice beside him.

Sitting to his left was one of the orphans, a young girl who appeared to be about a year older than the young Naruto who was sitting on his other side. Her hair was pulled up into two buns on either side of her head, making her look like a miniature panda in the light reflecting off the stage.

"Yes, Tenten," the Hokage replied, recalling her name. "I was there that night, ready to give my life in defense of this Village and its people should the Kyuubi breach the walls."

"Why weren't you fighting it on the ground like the other ninja?" the girl asked, confused.

"Because I was given that task by the Yondaime, who needed time to prepare for the defeat of the Kyuubi," he answered, the sad look on his face thankfully hidden in the darkness of his hat.

If only he had known Minato's plan, he would have cast the Shiki Fuuin himself. Instead they lost two of the villages most promising ninja that night when Minato and Kushina had given their lives to seal the Bijuu within their own newborn son. It still pained him like a fresh wound when he thought of all they had lost that night, including his own wife Biwako.

To Sarutobi's right, young Naruto sat on the edge of his chair, his blue eyes wide as this scene of history played out before him. He had heard many times before that the Yondaime had saved the village from the Kyuubi, but hearing it said and seeing it shown were two entirely different things, and what he witnessed this night would have long lasting effects.

On the stage a new puppet suddenly appeared, the same size as the other ninja puppets but wearing a white mask with black stripes running down the front ending in a mock-snout. Landing not upon the defensive wall, but instead on the stage in front of the Kyuubi, the small masked puppet looked up fearlessly as the massive beast.

Children gasped as they saw the little man stare down the monster, sure that he would be tossed aside like all others before him.

"Who is that?" Tenten asked.

"That is Fugu Okamoto," Sarutobi replied.

"He must be strong, to stand up to the Kyuubi like that," Naruto said, speaking for the first time. "Does he have one of those blood thingies?"

"Bloodline," Sarutobi corrected. "And yes, the Okamoto clan had a very impressive Doton Bloodline that allowed them to manipulate the Earth on a scale that few have ever rivaled. It was Fugu's own grandfather who had carved the faces of the Shodaime and Nidaime upon the Hokage Monument, as well as my own, using a single Jutsu each time. When it came time to carve the Yondaime's face upon the mountainside, it was Fugu himself that had the honor."

"Whoa," both children exclaimed, eyes wide in wonder.

Up on the stage the Fugu puppet went through the motions of casting the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (summoning technique), its carved wooden hands clacking together in a rough approximation of the hand signs that it's inflexible fingers could not form. Completing its 'Jutsu' the puppet slammed its hands on to the floor of the stage, causing a large burst of chakra smoke to explode into the air, hiding the entire left hand side of the stage.

Gasps of wonder filled the air as the smoke cleared in the autumn breeze, slowly revealing the silver and black form of a honey badger standing defiantly between the Kyuubi and the village wall. Even though it stood at half the height of its opponent, the puppet form of Hachimitsu stood firm against the might of the 'Bijuu' that stood before it.

One of the children cried in dismay when Fugu puppet fell as if someone had cut its strings, the soft thump of its masked head hitting the stage seeming to draw the attention of the honey badger, her furred head turning to look down to the still form of her 'summoner'.

Behind the backdrop of the stage, a pair of koto drummers started a feral duet that slowly built in both speed and volume, trained hands twitching chakra strings in pace with this beat as the furred head of the badger puppet turned away from the lifeless Fugu to face its enemy. Dramatic music then began to play as the two massive puppets began to attack each other, almost drowning out the gasps and shouts of the child audience as they rooted for the Badger Boss.

For what seemed like hours to the children, but in all reality lasted all of seven minutes, the two furry puppets clashed against each other until the badger leapt forward and under the body of the fox, jaws latching on to the base of one of its nine long tails. Laughter erupted from the audience as the puppeteers made the fox puppet give a startled look at this unexpected turn of events. Sarutobi himself had to chuckle as the frightening visage of the Bijuu turned to a comedy of errors as it tried to dislodge the badger, only for the instruments of the hidden band to give voice to its yelps of pain on every attempt.

With a flash of light a new puppet appeared on the stage, this one wearing a white coat with red flames along the bottom, a wig of yellow-blond hair on its head. Appearing with its back facing the ongoing struggle, the puppet form of the Yondaime turned around at the sounds of the battle, jumping back into a fighting stance when it noticed the two giant animals nearby. Startling a second time, the Yondaime noticed the still form of Fugu lying on the stage beside him, seeming morose for a moment before looking back at the two larger puppets.

Moments later the Kyuubi reared its head back, maw opening towards the sky as the Genjutsu user behind the backdrop created the illusion of a black and red Bijuudama appear in the open space between its ivory teeth.

Suddenly appearing in a flash upon the Kyuubi's back, the Yondaime glowed blue with chakra for a brief moment before all three puppets disappeared from the stage in another burst of chakra smoke. By the time the smoke dissipated a much smaller pair of Kyuubi and Hachimitsu puppets could be seen on top of one of the wooden outlines of the hills outside of Konoha that had acted as a simple backdrop during the entire play before this. With a burst of pyrotechnics the tops of one of the hills exploded, the cleverly disguised paper mache prop disappearing in a burst of smoke and flame to reenact how that second Bijuudama had taken off the top of one of the hills outside Konoha, instead of going off in the village itself.

With a final flash of light, the smaller puppets of Fox and Badger disappeared, ending the story.

"Awesome," Naruto whispered, eyes still staring at the empty stage. "Hey, hey, Old Man?"

"Yes, Naruto," Sarutobi replied.

Watching from the corner of his eye, the Hokage had to stop himself from laughing as the nearby ANBU guards visibly flinched upon hearing the child call him 'Old Man'. Their trained instinct to defend the honor of their master warred with the knowledge that the same man saw the offending child as his own grandson in all but blood.

"What kind of animal was that black and white one?" Naruto asked, looking up at him with bright blue eyes.

"That was a badger," he replied.

"But aren't badgers supposed to have gray fur, and striped faces?" Tenten asked from his other side.

"That depends upon the family of the badger," he told her, looking over in her direction as he answered. "But that was supposed to be Hachimitsu, the Boss of the Badger Summons. She was what is called a honey badger, where the badgers found in the woods around here are called 'European Badgers'."

Both children nodded in acceptance, even though they didn't fully understand the answer. Experience in the classroom at the orphanage had taught them that sometimes asking for more information only brought a very long and boring lecture, and this seemed to be one of those times it would be better to stop while they were ahead.

It was getting very late in the evening, and the sun had already set by the time the puppet show had started. By this point a chill breeze was starting to stir the tops of the trees in the village, and blankets were handed out to the children by the ANBU who had prepared for the needs of their young charges. Accepting a pair of folded blankets from one of the ANBU, Sarutobi himself draped the gray wool cloth across the shoulders of the two children standing there with him, patting them on the back with a smile as they thanked him.

"Wait, badgers have Bosses?" Naruto asked suddenly. "Is that like being the Hokage of badgers?"

"In a way, yes," Sarutobi replied.

"Awesome!" the blond said, nearly losing his blanket in his excitement, only to pull it back against his small frame as a wind blew past.

A wide grin grew upon the Hokage's face as he imagined Hachimitsu wearing a copy of his own Kage Hat, her glossy black furred snout poking out from beneath the pointed brim. Shaking his head ruefully at the idea, he led Naruto and Tenten along, while the ANBU herded the rest of children back towards the orphanage.

* * *

That night when Naruto went to bed his dreams were visited by a giant honey badger wearing a copy of the Hokage's robes and hat who walked beside him as they moved through the streets of Konoha. Whenever a villager would glare in the blonde's direction the 'Badger Kage' would raise one clawed paw and summon a bunch of badgers wearing ninja uniforms, who would take the offender out of his sight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto franchise, nor any of the other series I will be drawing inspiration from in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction created purely for enjoyment, and no money shall be gained in its production.

**Author Note:** The first few chapters before this jumped around a bit to help set the background, but things are going to slow down for a bit as some major changes start to happen. You know, in case the changes before this were not major enough.

By the way, _here there be badgers._

* * *

**BADGER**

**Chapter 04**

* * *

Life in the orphanage was not a pleasant experience for Naruto over the course of the next year.

Tenten was the only friend he had managed to make there, the other children steering clear of him upon the whispered urgings of the Matron, and she had finally managed to get adopted just before her own fifth birthday in March. Even though Naruto was happy for his friend finally finding someone to call family, it was hard on him to be alone.

There had been a number times in the last few months when he had gotten really sick while eating dinner, usually when he was grounded and had to eat alone in his room. One time he had even fallen asleep after having his tummy hurt for a while, only to wake up to see one of the Uchiha Police standing over him writing out a report. For some reason the Matron had seemed angry when he got up and told them he was feeling better.

As an unexpected side effect of the matron trying to subtly rid Konoha of the 'Demon Child' every time he was poisoned the Eight Trigrams Seal would loosen just enough to allow the Chakra of its prisoners to flow through his young body to help heal him of the damage. Due to the amazing regenerative capabilities of the thick Chakra of the Uzumaki Bloodline, the momentary flow of Youki healed him much faster than it could cause harm, the normally caustic energy diluted by his own Chakra.

Eventually things came to a head when a chance comment to the Matron by one of the civilian council reminded the wicked woman that there was no age limit in the charter for when it could be decided that one of the orphans was old enough to take care of themselves. With the Hokage distracted by his own ten month old grandson it was doubtful that he would be coming by the orphanage during this year's festival, making it a perfect time for her to kick the unwanted child out into the streets. After all, who knew what might happen to a child wandering around during such a large celebration, especially when it was that particular child?

When the matron had come in to Naruto's room with a smile on her face he had hoped that someone had finally decided to adopt him like his friend Tenten, but instead she had told him that he was old enough now to take care of himself. For several long moments he sat on his bed in confusion while the Matron watched on in malicious glee.

Deciding she had given him enough time to prepare himself she called out for two of the larger men on staff to escort the demon brat safely out of her orphanage. Without even giving him a chance to grab a coat, let alone a spare set of clothes, the two men picked the boy up and roughly carried him between them through the halls of the building, ignoring his shouts and cries as they passed by the stunned faces of the other orphans that lived there. What few members on the staff that carried no ill will against the Jinchuuriki were powerless to act as they watched the blonde haired child carried out of their lives and into the streets.

* * *

Naruto stood in front of the closed gates to the orphanage for some time, unable to quite understand what had just happened to him. Even though he was only a five year old kid, he still understood enough things about the world to know that children weren't able to take care of themselves, and he definitely wasn't old enough to become a ninja as they started school at like eight or something, which was ages away.

Soon realizing that he would not get any help standing there in the street, he turned around and started walking towards where the Festival was going on closer to the heart of the village. He remembered last year that the Old Man had taken him and Tenten to see the awesome show with the big badger in it, and wondered if they were having the show again this year.

_Maybe the Old Man will be there,_ Naruto thought to himself. _I'll tell him what happened, and he can make everything better._

Folding his hands across his chest to keep himself as warm as he could in his tee shirt and pants, he was glad that at least he had been wearing his sandals when they had dropped him out in the street. As he walked towards the center of the village he was passed by several people, some of which glanced at the shivering child in concern before realizing who it was before smugly continuing on their way, warm within their coats and cloaks.

By the time Naruto reached the main streets the Festival was already in full swing, the air filled with the sounds celebration as people greeted each other, merchants lured potential customers to their stands, bands played, and strings of fireworks were let off. It was more comfortable in the heart of the village, with the cluttered buildings blocking the bite of the wind and the warmth of the people walking around dulled the sharp chill in the autumn air.

Banners hung here and there, dyed and sometimes even embroidered with images of badgers and foxes. Often the banners showed the animals separately, though a few of them showed them locked in battle, the common theme the three claw marks over the badger's eye and its jaws locked on the base of one of the fox's tails. These banners brought a smile to Naruto's face whenever he saw them dispute his discomfort.

Eventually he found his way to the Ninja Academy and walked through the open gates, eyes searching for the sights and sounds of last year's puppet show. Silence and empty ground met his gaze, the cheers and music of the celebrating village sounding hollow as it echoed off the plastered walls of the academy building.

_The Old Man isn't here_, Naruto thought to himself, heart sinking. _Maybe I can find someone who can tell me where he is._

Knowing he had to do something, as it was only getting colder as the warmth of the sun became a memory and dinner now seemed so long ago, he turned himself around and walked away from the academy and back into the streets. Uncomfortable under the cold glares of the adults he began to hug the edges of the walls to stay out of the way, avoiding the streets with a large number of stands as those were harder to slip past. Several times he saw one of the ninja that wore masks like Fugu leaping along the rooftops, but they never seemed to notice him when he tried to catch their attention, quickly disappearing into the moonlit night.

As he rounded a street corner the boy suddenly crashed into something, yelping in surprise as he bounced back and landed on the flagstone street, his head knocking against the wooden side of a building. Blinking his eyes to clear them he looked up to see a large man wearing rough spun brown clothes, a clay jug hanging loosely from a finger wound through a small handle next to the neck. A confused look painted itself on the man's face as his watery red eyes glanced at the puddle left behind from when his jug had spilled, quickly replaced by sorrow as if he had seen his only friend leave him behind.

Looking around for what had caused his misfortune, the man quickly spotted the blond haired child slumped against the outer wall of the bar he had just left, and he was forced to squint his eyes to get a better look at the boy. Mind sluggish from the amount of alcohol he had tried to drown his sorrow in on the anniversary of losing his wife and children to the Kyuubi, it took a moment for the villager to realize who had run into him and caused him to spill his liquid comfort.

"D.. don't you think... you've t-taken enough from me?" the villager asked the child, the words slurred as his tongue seemed too large for his mouth. "First you take... take my home... then my family... a-and now you take my drink?!"

Naruto had no idea what the man was on about, but he didn't have a chance to even try to reply as the man let out a sound halfway between an inarticulate roar and a painful sob. Dreadfully startled, the boy quickly curled into a ball with his knees held up to his chest and his arms clutched over his head just in time to be peppered by shards of broken pottery.

Luckily the man's aim had been off, and the thrown jug had smashed against the wall a few feet above Naruto's head instead of hitting him in the head as had been the man's intent. Mumbling to himself, the large man wandered off down the street leaving behind a trail of tears on the ground and a rather startled young Jinchuuriki.

Deciding that maybe the village was a bit too dangerous, and remembering the field trips that his class had taken into the forest, Naruto decided that perhaps he could find some shelter out there for the night... away from the dangers of the village.

* * *

Sarutobi was reminded of a night a few years ago similar to this one as he sat in his office in the Hokage Tower before a pile of paperwork. Sitting in the corner of his office was a familiar crib, though the infant laying there was his grandson in matters of more than just the heart. Like Naruto, Konohamaru was also an orphan at only ten months old, his father having died in defense of the Fire Daimyo during his duties as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

Asuma had been named as the child's godfather before he had been born, a duty made more pressing when his mother had died a few months later from complications during the childbirth. Sarutobi had argued with Asuma that it was his responsibility to take care of his nephew, but his stubborn son had disagreed and instead left to take his brother's place at the Daimyo's side.

This had left the eldest Sarutobi with the task of watching over his grandson as best he could with all the duties he had as Hokage, often leaving him to rely on the assistance of an old friend and her husband. On this night though he did not have it in his heart to keep the couple from the festival, and so he had told them to go and have fun while he watched over the child.

Flinching as Konohamaru suddenly awoke from sleep with a piercing wail, the God of Shinobi ignored the silent chuckles of his hidden ANBU guard as he got up from behind his desk and walked over to the crib to find out what the child needed. The needs of a ten month old infant were not large in number, but it could be sometimes quite difficult to discover what was bothering the boy.

Flinching visibly as he neared the crib, the Hokage carefully took off his robes and hat and laid them on one of the office chairs, leaving him in his black combat gear he still wore beneath his mantle of office. Not only was it practical to be dressed for combat at all times, his position as Hokage meaning he was a leader of a village of ninja after all, but an added advantage was that the cloth they made these uniforms out of was designed to be easily cleaned from the kind of messes one ended up getting on you in a battle.

Even if that battle was with a dirty diaper.

Schooling his face as he prepared himself for a battle worse than his war on paperwork, the Hokage placed any thoughts about young Naruto into the back of his mind. He would visit the boy the following morning once his friends were available to take back over watching his actual grandson. No doubt the other child would forgive him for being a day late, after all what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

Sniffing to himself as he wandered the forests outside Konoha, his only possessions the clothes on his back, Naruto quickly wiped the tears from his cheeks with a swipe of dirty fingers, leaving streaks on his face. It was now rather late at night but the moon was hanging full in the skies above, its silvery light filtering through the partial cover of the half barren trees that surrounded him. Dry leaves crunched beneath his sandals, the sound echoing sharply through the crisp autumn air and startling a nearby squirrel into its hollow.

Wishing he knew why nobody seemed to like him except the Old Man, he shivered in the cold as his wandering feet carried him further into the wilderness. Malnourished as he was from years of being given the smallest servings of food, and often being sent to his room before dinner in 'punishment', it would only be a matter of time before nature and the elements finished the job that the Matron back at the orphanage had failed at despite her numerous attempts to poison the 'demon child'.

After an hour of wandering deeper into the hills outside Konoha, and getting colder as time went on, the strength finally fled his shaking legs, causing him to fall awkwardly to the ground. Gasping as the force of his landing knocked the air from his lungs, the blonde haired child spend several moments laying there in the dry leaves as the world seemed to spin around him. Absent were the sounds of concern he has heard spoken to the other children whenever they were hurt, his pain answered by the sound of a cold wind stirring the loose leaves in the trees above.

Rolling over on his back, Naruto had just managed to get himself sitting upright with his legs stretched out on the ground in front of him when a rustling of leaves caught his attention. Confused for a moment, he wondered why hearing leaves moving was suddenly strange when that was pretty much all he had been hearing since walking out the unguarded gate of the village when he heard the sound again.

Unaware of the dangers that a forest could hold for a small child, and desperate for anything to take his attention away from the cold and hunger he was feeling, the boy turned his head to look towards a nearby hill that stood beneath the trunk of a massive tree. He had almost decided it had been his imagination when he heard the rustling again, and saw a pile of loose leaves shift around to create the sound that had caught his attention. Seeming to move at random the disturbance in the leaves slowly moved in his general direction, pausing on occasion with the sound of something digging in the topsoil. Soon a strange snuffing sound met his ears, followed by a few random grunts that caused Naruto to let out a short giggle.

The reaction was instant as the movement beneath the leaves suddenly stopped, leaving Naruto to the sound of his own breathing against a backdrop of wind in the treetops. Holding his breath in a desperate attempt to encourage whatever was beneath those leaves to move again, his bright blue eyes shone as he watched the bright patch of silver moonlight that shined upon the small clearing that stood between him and the hill.

After a long moment of silence a furry head poked out, bright white stripes contrasting with black as the wedge shaped head rose up from under the carpet of bright reds oranges and yellows of the fallen leaves. Black eyes peered around the forest from behind a twitching nose, easily spotting the presence of a young human child sitting nearby.

Huffing to itself as if sighing, the animal ducked its head back beneath the leaves and made its way over to where he was sitting, the odd grunting and sniffing sounds allowing Naruto to follow its progress almost as easily as the shifting leaves did. Soon enough the animal got to within a few feet of him and poked its head back out from underneath the loose cover, allowing Naruto to get his first good look at the forest resident.

After seeing the puppet show last year Naruto and Tenten had looked through the picture books available at the orphanage for anything having to do with badgers, an interest shared by several other children during the weeks following last year's Festival. Since badgers were seen as symbols of protection by the people of Konoha after the Kyuubi attack, some going to far as to wearing small hand carved pendants bearing their likeness, he knew that badgers were good and wouldn't hurt him.

This badger was rather impressive for its breed, its sloped shoulders doing nothing to hide the fact that it was larger and heavier than the malnourished child sitting in front of it. Weighing in at a little over thirty two bounds it actually had a good seven pounds on a child who was much too small for his age. Thick muscles in the badger's back twitched, causing its fur to bunch up for a moment, before it lifted its snout to take several deep sniffs to catch the human child's scent.

Pausing for a moment, then taking a deeper snort, the badger inspected the young boy. Shuffling around him on short legs it took a moment to shove its nose directly into the boy's left armpit, startling him with the strange sensation of having its twitching cold nose there, before redirecting its attention to the short blonde hair on his head. Finally seeming pleased with its inspection of the boy, it slumped back down to the ground and walked out from behind him towards the base of the nearby hill, stopping only to look back at him.

For a long moment the two looked at each other before the badger made an odd whickering sound to itself, sound almost like the soft whinny of a horse. Turning its stout body back around it walked back over to where Naruto was still sitting and reached out to carefully grab the edge of his pants with its sharp teeth, being careful not to cause him any harm as it gave the clothes a sharp tug. Letting go of his clothing, the badger walked back towards the hill for a few feet before looking back at him again, causing him to realize what the animal wanted.

"Oh, you want me to follow you?" Naruto muttered, half delirious from exhaustion.

For some reason the focused attention from the large animal reminded Naruto of what he imaged it would be like to have a mother. This thought warmed his heart, giving him the energy to get back up on wobbly knees and follow this Momma Badger as she led him towards the hillside, pausing on occasion to look back over her shoulder to make sure he was still following her. Eventually their path led to a spot half way up the hill, with Naruto having to crawl on his hands and knees to keep from falling, where they stopped at a large patch of loose dirt that looked like it had poured out of a hole in the side of the hill between two roots of the giant tree.

Noticing that the child had stopped moving, Momma Badger approached him again to give an insistent tug on the sleeve of his tee shirt before disappearing into the large hole. Unsure of what awaited him in the hole, yet trusting that she wasn't going to lead him into harm, he crouched there on the hillside on his hands and knees for another long moment. Without giving him time to decide on his own, a bitter cold wind suddenly swept through the forest, sending pins and needles across the skin of his windward side. Yelping in shock he dove into the hole, trusting his fate in the good will of Momma Badger, his small frame easily slipping inside the wide entrance to the Sett.

It was strange to enter her home, the only light available a small sliver of reflected moonlight slipping past the obstruction of his own body. Thankfully the tunnel he now found himself in was fairly dry, and not nearly as cold as it was outside with all that wind blowing around. An odd sense of belonging wove its way through the delirious mind of the child as the suddenly familiar scent of badger musk filled his nose, the snorting breath of Momma Badger echoing back at him from further inside the Sett.

Following the sounds of her breathing, Naruto soon found himself once again crawling on his hands and knees as the occasional dangling root brushed against his exposed face and down his back as he made his way deeper underground. Soon enough warmth was returning to his body from a combination of the physical act of crawling and the natural insulation of the hill now seeming press down from above. Coming to an intersection in the tunnel he felt around with his hands, the scrabbling of loose dirt beneath him echoing off the walls and giving him a strange sense of the walls surrounding him. Hearing a faint cooing noise off to the right he took that turn, realizing that is the direction that Momma Badger had gone off in.

After what seemed like an eternity he suddenly felt a difference, the closeness of the roof giving away above him and the sounds of Momma Badger no longer distant. Sitting up slightly so that he could reach around with his hands again he felt the strangely rough yet smooth feeling of large tree roots tracing a dome like roof above his head, the apex high enough that he had to sit up fully to trace its contour.

Rustling of dry grasses caught his attention, and soon enough he once again felt Momma Badger tugging upon his clothes, leading him to a corner of the room. Upon reaching the corner his hands met a thick bed of loose hay acting as both a cushion as well as insulation from the ground, nudges of her wedge shaped nose joining in with the tugs on his clothes as she brought him to the center of this mass.

Finally getting him to lay down, she circled around him a few times before coming to a rest next to him on the bed of hay, the thick fur on her back lying warm against the thin cover of his shirt. Feeling safe and warm for the first time since getting kicked out of the orphanage, Naruto fell into a sudden deep sleep in the odd company of his new friend.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto franchise, nor any of the other series I will be drawing inspiration from in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction created purely for enjoyment, and no money shall be gained in its production.

**Author Note: **Sorry about the slight delay in posting this chapter, but I got caught up in reading fanfiction instead of writing it, then real life threw some stuff in my direction... and then I got busy writing the rough drafts for chapters seven and eight before realizing I hadn't done a rewrite of chapter five yet. Sorry about how short this chapter is, but I decided it was best to cut if off where I did to keep the flow right.

Special thanks go to my best friend, and proofreader, Amedao.

And without any further Ado...

* * *

**BADGER**

**Chapter 05**

* * *

Hachimitsu, boss of the Badger Summon Clan, awoke to the uncomfortable sensation of wet fur and the ache of old wounds.

Wondering how the Great Sett had managed to get flooded before remembering where she was, the massive honey badger rolled her body over until her weight was resting on her heavy paws and pushed herself up on shaking legs. Water dripped from her soaked fur into the ankle deep pool she found herself standing in, causing her to shake herself from nose to tail, her loose skin spinning on her frame in a spiraling wave throwing as much of the water off her as possible.

Blinking her eyes open she looked over to the far corner of the cage where the form of the Kyuubi lay near motionless, the massive tears in its hide she had seen last time mostly closed up by this point. Several of the larger wounds were still visibly leaking Youki in a sluggish flow that mixed with the water covering the floor, causing a fading red glow of energy to stretch out until it was absorbed into the massive bars of the seal that blocked them off from the rest of the human child's mindscape.

Stretching out her rudimentary Chakra senses she tried to get an idea of how long it might be before the Bijuu was healed enough to wake up, and how long after that she might have a fight on her hands again.

In order to ensure that the Badgers were never without the knowledge and skills of a trained Sage, a tradition had begun where the current Boss would be trained so that if something happened to their current Sage there would be someone available to accept the burden of being the voice of knowledge and wisdom for the Clan, and chose the next Boss to lead their people. After winning the challenge fight against Shigeo of the European Badgers and accepting the title of Badger Boss she had begun her training under Yuudai, the current Badger Sage.

"I-impossible!" Hachimitsu snapped out, blinking in shock at what her senses were telling her.

She had been focusing on the Youki that was leaking into their environment from the Kyuubi to get a better reading of how much strength it had regained after being literally torn in two and shoved into the seal by the hand of the Shinigami. What was shocking was that there was no longer just a single source of Youki within the seal, but two! There was still the immense well of energy that was the Bijuu, seeming hollow and perhaps only half-full even after the amount of time that had already passed, which was only to be expected.

What was not expected on the other hand was that Hachimitsu was feeling an odd echo of Youki coming from within her own body!

Turning her senses inwards, the honey badger took several long moments to get a better reading, trying to figure out what was going on. There were obvious taps on her Chakra network leading off to the giant paper seal on the outside of the cage that represented the Shiki Fuuin that held both Fox and Badger within the human child. Tracing this invisible threads of energy she came to a point just at the edge of the seal where the drain on her own chakra network merged with the thicker bands of chakra running from the Kyuubi before passing into the seal itself.

Paying closer attention to the point at which their two energies joined she noticed a strange feedback loop where some of the energy was bleeding back along the link in both directions. Some of the Doton-natured chakra of her own complete chakra system, both Yin and Yang, was passing back up the threads linking the Kyuubi to the seal to feed back into the still body of the Bijuu. An equal flow of Youki was feeding back up her own side of the link, forcing the normally caustic energy to flow into her own Chakra network.

Were she anything other than a summon animal, this trickle of highly corrosive Youki would have probably killed her shortly after the sealing in a very painful manner as her own Chakra coils and Tenketsu melted from the potent energy. Since she was a summon animal however the very nature of her own Chakra network had adapted to the slow trickle of Youki being siphoned into her, likely aided by the very nature of the seal itself that had been designed to filter out the worst of the damaging nature of Youki before allowing it out into the growing human child's own body.

Normally she would have already been de-summoned back to the Great Sett when the temporary pool of energy granted to her during her summons had been used up, but it seemed that somehow the combination of being stuck within a seal powered by the Shinigami itself and tied into the nigh limitless source of energy of a Bijuu, had changed the nature of things. Much like when Fugu had summoned her using his own Doton natured Chakra to reinforce her summoned body, helping to super-charge her own Doton nature before the fight, her body had merely changed from one energy source to another.

Shrugging her silver furred shoulders, she decided that there wasn't much she could really do to change her circumstances within the seal, deciding to instead see what was happening on the outside.

Since the seal itself was drawn in such a way to hold the Yang Chakra of the Kyuubi it did little to stop the trickle of her Yin chakra as she sent a probe out into the child's mindscape, the small fraction of Youki that went along for the ride being quickly drained away by the seal before allowing her own purified Doton Chakra to pass along unimpeded.

* * *

While few could argue that the Eight Trigrams Seal that Minato had created was a masterpiece of not only complexity in design but also strength - necessarily so in order to contain even half the strength of the greatest of the nine tailed beasts within the living container of his own son - Fuuinjutsu was a difficult skill to learn for the simple fact that there is almost no way to calculate all of the variables that could affect the outcome of using a seal.

Take for example the standard storage seal, which had not changed significantly even though several generations had passed since their initial design and use. Despite how high the demand was for a more powerful explosive seal, what with the violent and often short lived nature of the Ninja career, there hadn't been much advance made in that direction either. And those were the two most commonly used seals in all of the Elemental Nations.

Taking into account that Fuuinjutsu alone would not have the ability to seal away the entire strength of the Kyuubi, Minato had designed the entire sealing array around the knowledge that he would have the Yin chakra of the Bijuu sealed within his own body, taking it with him into the belly of the Shinigami when his own soul was taken as payment for using the Shiki Fuuin. Several sections of the seal had been designed for the express purpose of lessening the physical impact of having the Kyuubi's Yang Chakra sealed within the body of the new Jinchuuriki.

Thanks to the Uzumaki bloodline, Naruto had been granted a deep well of dense chakra all of his own, allowing the filtering nature of the seal to prevent all but the smallest of physical changes to show through. Small things like the whisker marks on his cheeks, and his trickster nature, had been inherited even before he was born, passed down through his mother's own genetics and his close proximity to the Kyuubi while still in the womb. Having the Bijuu itself sealed within him would have merely heightened these traits, and multiplied the strength of the longevity and regenerative granted by the same Uzumaki bloodline that made him a perfect candidate to be the next Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Hachimitsu's unexpected presence within the seal had not been account for in the design, as the seal had not been drawn to filter away the physical influences that might come from the Doton natured Yang Chakra of the Badger Boss, let alone the added presence of her Yin Chakra. At first the small trickle of this foreign Chakra leaking out from behind the seal did not have much effect upon the child, but when she sent a deliberate probe of Yin Chakra from behind the seal it brought its Doton nature along from the ride, unfiltered and now bleeding through the still developing Chakra network of the five year old child as he spent his first night asleep deep within the twisting tunnels of Momma Badger's sett.

Through a strange set of occurrences that defied odds, the thick roots that acted to hold up the roof of the hollow the boy was sleeping in belonged to a large Chakra Tree whose seed had accidentally fallen in this random patch of forest shortly after the First Hokage had turned the lands around them from rolling plains to the thick woods that now stood there. While it was common knowledge that the paper made from these trees had the ability to tell a ninja what their elemental nature was when they channeled their Chakra through it, it was a well guarded fact that the living trees acted as a great focus of Chakra on their own.

Sleeping directly beneath the great trunk of this Chakra tree, surrounded on all sides by the solid dirt of the hillside with the thick roots of the tree spreading down from the roof of the hollow and connecting back beneath them as the tree sought out water and nutrients from deep within the earth, Naruto was unaware of the energy that suddenly began to flow through him. Around him the roots of the tree began to glow as they focused the sudden surge of Chakra flowing through the child from behind the seal.

This sudden surge of Doton Chakra flowing through his body, concentrated as it was by the roots and earth that surrounded him within the heart of Momma Badger's sett, caused a deep change within his own Chakra network. While he had inherited a strong Futon (wind) nature from his father, the flood of Chakra flowing through him now quickly subsumed the weaker Futon nature he had been born with. At the same time, the seal that was designed to keep him from developing too many fox like traits was little hindrance for the new badger traits that began to leak into him.

Small changes had already begun happening to him from the very moment that the sealing had been completed trapping both the Kyuubi and Hachimitsu within him, though the slumbering nature of his tenants made these changes almost unnoticeable. However, one of the few traits that he had already developed was the faint smell of a badger around him, easily overriding the faint fox like smell he would have had without the Badger Boss' presence within him.

It had been that familiar scent of family, the pheromones released by the abandoned orphan as he walked through the woods at night that had drawn Momma Badger to him. Although he had looked odd covered as he was by the strange not-fur, her nose had told him that he was a kit without a mother in desperate need of nurturing and protection, in spite of his odd shape.

Which now brought him here, back pressed against the warm fur of Momma Badger, surrounded and suffused with the chakra being sent into him by Hachimitsu, deep within the rich soil of the forests of the Land of Fire, directly beneath the trunk of a Chakra Tree, and surrounded as he was by its roots. With all of these factors combined his undeveloped Futon nature was easily overridden and replaced with a strong Doton nature the likes of which had not been seen since the death of Fugu Okamoto. While almost imperceptible at this point, in later years it would come to be known that the once great Okamoto Doton Bloodline had been reborn within the young Uzumaki that night.

Safe within the grasp of the earth, nose taking in the calming scent of 'home' from the dirt and hay he lay upon, and 'safety' from the musky scent of Momma Badger as she lay at his back, Naruto had the most restful night of sleep in his entire life, blissfully unaware of what had just begun, and what effect his sudden absence would soon have on a small number of people in the village nearby.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Naruto franchise, nor any of the other series I will be drawing inspiration from in this fanfiction. This is a work of fiction created purely for enjoyment, and no money shall be gained in its production.

**Author Note: **Wow, just wow. I did not expect to get as many reviews for the last chapter as I ended up getting! It's always nice to get feedback, and I truly appreciate the time people have been taking to let me know what they think.

The story is picking up now, as Naruto is out of the orphanage and into the forest, and you have caught a glimpse of what is going on inside the seal. This chapter will be significantly larger than the last, as Naruto's absence now becomes known.

I thought about breaking this chapter into two parts, but Amedao told me it worked better if I kept it together instead.

* * *

**BADGER**

**Chapter 06**

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat once more behind his desk, having come in early that morning to see a fresh stack of papers sitting there to welcome him.

Several sticks of incense burned in the far corner of his office in a vain effort to cover the smell left behind by the many, many dirty diapers that he had been forced to change the night before. While it warmed his heart that at least one other member of the Sarutobi clan was alive in Konoha to carry on their legacy, he had barely gotten any rest last night while watching over the infant on his own. He could only thank the Kami that his grandson's caretakers had returned from the festival in time for him to get any sleep at all.

Tired eyes looked over yet another request from the civilian council asking him to approve an increase in the number of missions being taken by Konoha's ninja forces in order to bring more money into the village. This was one of the most difficult parts of being the leader of a Hidden Village, when you had to decide whether or not to risk the lives of those depending on you for guidance.

Sarutobi sighed and turned his head to gaze out the window of his office, his eyes roaming over the rooftops of the village that he had sworn to protect with his life. Heavy winds had swept through the village late last night, bringing with them the heavy clouds that now loomed overhead, thick with the promise of rain. Even though the sun had already risen over an hour ago, the village was gray and dreary, a sharp contrast to the moonlit Festival from the night before.

While their numbers were slowly recovering from the losses suffered during the Kyuubi attack, they were still struggling to cover what obligations they had already, and what few warm bodies they did have to spare were already in danger of burning out from near constant deployment. There was no feasible way to take on any more work than they current had, especially since they were now having to rely upon two man teams of Chuunin without any Jounin supervision to complete many of the borderline C-Ranked missions deemed too dangerous for the greener Gennin teams.

Coming to a decision, he grabbed his pen with a deft hand that defied the ache in his joints that even the best medical Jutsu could not prevent, writing his denial at the bottom of the page. With practiced ease he lifted his seal of office and stamped it on the document before placing the seal back on its ink soaked pad, making his refusal official.

Watching the ink dry on the paper reminded him of another seal that belonged to someone else who had unknowingly pledged themselves to the defense of their village on the day he was born. Poor Naruto had no idea of the burden that he carried, and how his sacrifice kept the village safe from the fury of the Kyuubi on a daily basis. It was a shame that he had not been able to visit the boy during the Festival, as Naruto had a wonderful time the year before when Sarutobi had taken the entire orphanage to see the puppet show.

Deciding to see if he could visit the boy now that he was not stuck watching over Konohamaru, Sarutobi raised a hand in a subtle signal, summoning one of the hidden ANBU guards to his side.

"Mukade (Centipede), please go to the orphanage and ask Matron Wamura if she can spare young Naruto Uzumaki for a few hours today for a visit with me?" Sarutobi asked the insect-masked ANBU.

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Ant replied, disappearing via Shunshin to complete his mission.

Knowing that it would take several minutes to hear anything back from the ANBU, Sarutobi turned to the next paper in his stack, noticing that it was a message from Jiraiya, who few knew was the head of Konoha's information network. During recent months the Sannin had come across rumors of an upswing in bandit activity along the southern border of Fire, and was planning to visit the area to investigate these claims further.

While the thought of increased bandit activity was disturbing to the Hokage, he had to consider that his student might have less than honorable reasons for heading south this time of year. Even at this time of year the waters of the South Sea were warm and inviting, the currents sweeping over the deep volcanic fissures beneath the waters making the shallow beaches a popular destination even during the winter. Doubtless a large amount of this 'research' would be of the Icha Icha variety.

Thinking of those books, Sarutobi contemplated taking a break with his copy of the most recent volume hidden in the lower drawer of his desk before the thought was interrupted by the sudden return of Mukade. Frowning as he realized that the ANBU had returned without Naruto, he leaned back in his chair and pinned the nervous man with a long gaze.

"Lord Hokage, I regret to inform you that Naruto is not in the orphanage," Mukade reported. "When questioned, Matron Wamura advised that the child has been deemed mature enough to live on his own, and was 'allowed' to move out late last night during the festival."

Raw and unfocused Killing Intent filled the office as the Hokage heard this report.

"They kicked a five year old child out of the orphanage at the beginning of winter," Sarutobi asked, his voice deceptively calm.

"Yes, Lord Hokage," the ANBU answered. "I did an immediate search of the property myself to be sure, and found no sign of the child's presence. His room had already been emptied out by the time I arrived, and shows recent signs of cleaning on all the surfaces with disinfectant. It looked as if they tried to erase any trace that he was ever there, my Lord."

Taking a deep breath, Sarutobi placed his hands on the surface of the desk and slowly stood, a grim look on his face. Wood scraped on wood as his chair was pushed away by as the back of his legs pressed against the seat, sounding harsh in the sudden deafening silence of the room.

"Summon ANBU agents Ookami and Inu, then detain the Matron in her own office until we arrive," Sarutobi commanded the man.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Mukade replied with a quick bow before disappearing with another Shunshin.

Silence filled his office once more, the wind caused by the ANBU's teleportation Jutsu causing the smoke rising from the incense in the far corner to dance in the shifting air currents. Picking up Jiraiya's report he began to read it again in a vain effort to calm his mind, though his thoughts kept drifting to the missing child that he thought of as a second grandson.

_If only I had gone to visit him last evening,_ Sarutobi thought to himself. _If I had been there, I doubt that the Matron would have dared to kick the boy out of the orphanage. Although it is strange that she dared to do so even without my presence to stop her, surely she did not think that she would get away with kicking a Clan Heir out into the streets? Unless..._

"She didn't know," he spoke aloud. "She must have thought that Naruto was the child of civilians, placing him under the rulings of the Civilian Council instead of the Ninja Council."

Konoha's law system was separated into two distinct branches out of necessity, with the Civilian Charter on one side dictating the rules and punishment deemed fit for civilians, while the Clan Charter covered not only those men and women who had graduated the Academy to become Ninja, but also the children of recognized Clans. It was forbidden for the Civilian Court to try a case involving any parties covered by the Clan Charter, even if it was a domestic situation where the laws matched word for word.

One of those very important differences in the law books was that the orphanage was not allowed to dismiss a clan heir without express permission from either a member of that same clan, or the Hokage himself. Since Kushina had been the last known living member of the Uzumaki Clan, and Sarutobi knew for a fact that he had not accepted any requests to turn Naruto out into the streets, this meant that Matron Wamura had committed treason.

He would like to find out why.

Sensing the subtle rise of Chakra in front of his desk signaling an incoming Shunshin, the Hokage placed the report he had been staring at for the last few minutes back on the surface of his desk, leaning his head so that the brim of his hat shadowed his eyes. Moments later a figure arrived in his office, the burst of chakra smoke released by the teleportation Justu shadowing their form.

Years of practice allowed him to recognize the outline of Ookami (Wolf), one of the few members of the Inuzuka Clan actively enrolled in the ANBU, and Konoha's best tracker-nin. Standing beside her leg was the lean, wolf like form of her ninken (ninja dog) companion, whose keen nose would be leading the hunt for the missing Uzumaki.

As the mist faded it revealed a white porcelain mask framed by spiky brown hair, two fang like marks tracing down the cheeks of the wolf shaped mask matching those tattooed on the face hidden beneath. While most ANBU took great effort to hide their true identity beneath their animal masks, there was no way for the Inuzuka to hide the identity of their ninken, making the mask little more than a badge of office for the woman.

A snorting sneeze came from the ninken that stood at her side, the chakra mist still trying to cling to his black and gray fur. Golden eyes gazed out from his wolf like face as the ninken inspected the office, taking a long moment to look over at the far corner in distaste before sneezing again in distaste.

"You called, Lord Hokage?" Ookami asked.

"I did," Sarutobi replied, eyes still shadowed by the brim of the Hokage hat on his head. "I asked for Mukade to have both you and Inu (Dog) report to me immediately. Do you know why Inu has not answered my summons?"

"He's on a mission in Tanzaku Gai right now," she explained.

"That is unfortunate, but it is good that you and Kuromaru are available," he stated, speaking of her ninken companion. "I have need of your tracking skills in a mission of the utmost discretion. If you could, please take a seat and remove your mask so that I can explain what is going on."

Nodding at the odd request, Ookami removed her porcelain mask and clipped it to her belt, revealing the tomboyish face of Tsume Inuzuka, curiosity evident in her slitted eyes. Sarutobi waited for her to sit down, Kuromaru taking his place again at her right hand side.

"At some point during the Festival last night a young child was forced to leave the orphanage, apparently with only the clothes on his back," the Hokage explained. "I have had Matron Wamura, who is the civilian in charge of the orphanage, detained within her office pending our arrival. From there I will need you to follow the boy's trail so that we can find him, preferably before anything bad happens to him."

"What's so important about this pup?" Tsume asked. "You normally call me in if there is a nuke-nin (missing ninja) to track down."

"The child we are speaking of us none other than Naruto Uzumaki," he explained, watching as her eyes widened in shock, her slitted pupils narrowing. "You understand then the need for secrecy in this investigation. It cannot become common knowledge that Naruto is missing, not only because he is the only heir to the Uzumaki bloodline, but also because of his status as the Jinchuuriki. Our rivals would stop at almost nothing for the chance to get a hold of the young boy, if for no other reason than to mould him into a weapon aimed at our throats."

"But the pup is only five years old," Tsume snarled. "And they just kicked him out into the streets in the middle of the night at the beginning of winter? What are we waiting for?"

Behind her gruff attitude the Inuzuka Clan Head was still a caring mother, and the thought of kicking out a child that young to fend on their own brought out all those maternal instincts that she denied she had within her. She had been one of the ANBU assigned to escort the orphans to the Academy grounds during the previous year's Festival, and it was easy for her to remember the innocent joy on the young boy's face as he watched the puppet show from his seat at the Hokage's side.

Her own son Kiba was the same age as the pup, and it was not difficult for her to imagine what could go wrong if he was sent out on his own, Inuzuka or not. No, there is no way that any child that young could fend for themselves in the wilderness beyond the earthen walls of the village. Knowing what the villagers thought about the boy made it unlikely that he would have any better chance to survive inside the village either.

Tsume had just enough time to put on her ANBU mask before they all disappeared from the office in a simultaneous Shunshin, the force of their departure causing the smoke from the now forgotten incense sticks to dance once more.

* * *

Even with the dangerous line of work that many parents in Konoha had, the life of a ninja being anything but safe, there was only one actual orphanage in the entire village. Whenever a child from one of the Clans lost their parents it was common for the clan to have their own arrangements for the care and training of these children, keeping their Clan traditions strong. Therefore, most of the orphans that ended up at the orphanage were from civilian families, or came from small ninja clans that did not have the resources to be able to take care of the children themselves.

When Sarutobi arrived with Ookami at the front gates they were greeted by the sight of a large two story brick building, large windows looking out from the beige painted walls. Excited shouts echoed from a small playground off to the side where several of the children that lived there were busy playing with each other in spite of the cloudy weather.

It looked like a pleasant place to live, and the smiles on the children's faces were a sharp contrast to the severe frown that lined the Hokage's face as he walked towards the entrance of the orphanage, the ANBU and her ninken companion following close on his heels. As they approached they could hear the sound of voices approaching from within, unimpeded by the currently twin doors of the entrance.

"I'm just saying that it's not fair I have to do the Katon (fire) Jutsu every time we get trash detail," complained the voice of a young boy. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep pumping out fire like that without having it explode!"

"That's the entire reason I have you practice on garbage," responded the voice of an older man. "Being able to throw out large exploding fireballs in combat will be useless unless you have the endurance and control to last out the fight. More than one Konoha ninja has died because they ran out of Chakra in the middle of a battle and did not have other skills to back them up. Relying on Ninjutsu alone can be a fatal handicap."

"At least you weren't stuck shoveling ashes all morning," a girl's voice grumbled. "I swear, this stuff better wash out of my clothes or there will be hell to pay."

As the voices neared they finally came out into the gray morning light, revealing a Jounin instructor and a trio of young Gennin fresh out of the Academy from last year's graduating class. Walking next to the Jounin was the boy that had been complaining about holding his fire Jutsu had the familiar black eyes of an inactive Sharingan, and was wearing the familiar dark blue clothes of the Uchiha Clan. On the Jounin's other side were two glaring girls, soot covering them from the knees down, and dark smudges on their faces from where they had wiped away sweat with ash covered hands.

Upon seeing the Hokage standing outside the doors they froze at his unexpected presence, then snapped taught in a salute.

"Lord Hokage, was there something you needed of me or my team?" the Jounin asked.

"Not that I am aware of," Sarutobi answered, eyeing the exhausted Gennin. "What was your mission here at the Orphanage?"

"Standard D-Ranked garbage detail," the Jounin replied. "There was a last minute request from the Orphanage to have a large load of trash burned in their incinerator as it was full from last night."

"I see, carry on," Sarutobi instructed them.

"Yes, Lord Hokage," the man bowed before leading his students off in the direction of the assignment office.

_That's odd,_ Sarutobi thought to himself as they entered the building. _I could swear I handed out the exact same D-Ranked mission just two days ago right before the Festival._

Turning his mind back to the more pressing concern of the missing child, he led them down the wood paneled hall, Kuromaru's long nails clicking on the waxed floor. They passed several members of the orphanage staff on their way through the building, the subtle Killing Intent leaking off the outwardly calm Hokage causing them to quickly clear the way for his passage.

No doubt there wasn't a single member of staff that was unaware of the fact that the Matron had been locked inside her office on the Hokage's orders, the not so subtle presence of Mukade standing outside the closed door in full ANBU regalia warning anyone else from approaching. When the Hokage and his party came into view the other man snapped to attention, eyes facing forward behind the mask on his face.

"Has there been any trouble?" Sarutobi asked.

"None, Lord Hokage," Mukade replied. "Matron Wamura has been most cooperative, though my Kikaichu tell me she is more confident than she appears for some reason."

"Interesting," Sarutobi muttered to himself. "I will see her now. Mukade, continue to stand guard outside. Ookami, I want you and Kuromaru to join me inside, in case you can get any clues that I might miss."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Both ANBU replied.

With a subtle hand sign, Sarutobi commanded Mukade to open the door for them, revealing the inside of the office. Books lined the right hand wall, while the left wall held several diplomas and accolades, as well as numerous framed pictures of the woman shaking hands or standing beside many of the higher ranking members of the Civilian Council. Windows looked out on the playground from behind her desk, casting the woman herself in shadow from where she sat in her chair, a subtle attempt at enforcing her will upon anyone entering the room that failed utterly in the face of the Hokage.

With a subtle flicker of a Raiton Jutsu that had taken months to perfect Sarutobi forced the overhead florescent light to turn on suddenly without even reaching out to touch the switch on the wall, ruining the shadowing effect with the sudden wash of white light. Matron Wamura flinched as the light revealed her, the pinched look around her mouth tightening when her gaze passed over the large canine that had joined them in her pristine office.

Ignoring the low chairs that sat in front of the woman's desk, Sarutobi walked past the wall full of pictures to stand in front of the window, forcing the Matron to decide whether to keep facing Ookami or turn towards where he now stood. If she wanted to play a game of control, she would soon realize she was holding the losing hand.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out that Naruto Uzumaki is no longer living in this orphanage," Sarutobi said, breaking the silence. "Would you mind telling me where the boy might be found?"

"That... boy has been deemed mature enough to live on his own," Wamura said, obviously just stopping herself from calling the child something less tasteful. "It is well within my right as the Matron to make this decision, as the Charter clearly states that a child can be allowed to leave at any point after their fifth birthday. I see no reason to have my morning disturbed by this business, and I will be filing a complaint with the Council on how heavy handed it is for you to have your ANBU lock me in my office like this."

Ookami tilted her head to the side in confusion, unable to believe the woman's stupidity.

"You have no idea what you have gotten yourself in to, do you?" the Hokage asked her, turning to look down at her in curiosity. "According to the Charter the only legal way for you to have dismissed the boy was if you had written permission from either myself, or a recognized member of his family. Surely you must be aware that ignoring this law can be considered an act of treason?"

Sweat began to bead the Matron's forehead as she seemed to visibly age before them.

"But... but the Councilor showed me the law yesterday during our meeting!" she stuttered, eyes darting for a moment to one of the pictures on her wall. "Surely the law could not have changed in that short amount of time!"

"Ah, and now we get to the heart of the matter, it seems," Sarutobi muttered, his dark eyes pinning her to her chair. "Tell me, was this Councilor from the Civilian or Clan branch of the council? Things have to be handled entirely different based upon your answer to this question."

Matron Wamura was silence for several moments, obviously trying to decide which answer would have the best chance of getting her out of trouble. Her eyes darted again to the pictures on the wall, something that she saw there causing her to visibly relax in her chair, her decision suddenly made.

"I-it was a Civilian Councilor," Matron Wamura answered.

She had falsely assumed that if it was one of the Civilian Council that told her, then her case would of course be handled by the Civilian Courts. Her 'good friend' on the Civilian Council that had shown her the law the day before was currently the presiding judge in that court, and would of course make sure that nothing stuck to her. After all, it was his idea that allowed her to free herself of the burden of the Demon Brat.

"I see, and their name?" Sarutobi asked.

"I am not at liberty to say," she quickly replied. "Confidentiality agreements and all that, I'm sure you understand."

"Not in this case, no," he shook his head. "You seem to be under the impression that any confidentiality agreements with a member of the Civilian Council is of any consequence during an investigation being held by the Clan Council. I am afraid that you, and your friend, are in a great amount of trouble."

"But the Civilian Charter clearly states-"

"Whoever said that Naruto Uzumaki fell under the Civilian Charter?" the Hokage snapped, interrupting her denials with a burst of Killing Intent that froze her breath. "Surely you must have known what the boy means to this village, the burden that he carried within him? You must have seen his file at least once during his stay here as part of your duties as the Matron here. Did you not see the papers registering him as a member of the Uzumaki Clan?"

Taking a deep breath the Hokage calmed himself, trying his best to ignore the stench of urine that now lingered in the air around the woman. Glancing at the picture on the wall that Matron Wamura had been continuously looking at, he repressed a snort upon seeing the overfed pink faced man that he recognized as being the head judge of the Civilian Courts.

Shaking his head in disappointment he left his standing place in front of the window and made his way towards the door of the office, ignoring the whimpering woman as he passed her desk. Tsume's slitted eyes peered at him from behind her Ookami mask as he neared her, barely visible through the holes in the porcelain.

"Come, Ookami," Sarutobi said. "We have a child for you to find."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," she replied, opening the door for him.

Mukade looked over as they exited the room, the subtle buzzing of his Kikaichu hive telling the Hokage that the ANBU had heard everything the woman had said through the thin door, and was less than pleased. While the Aburame was normally a very calm man, anyone showing obvious disrespect for his Hokage caused him great anger. Sarutobi would not want to be in that woman's shoes.

"Mukade, I need you to escort Wamura to Inoichi over at Torture and Interrogation," he commanded. "Let him know what you have overheard, and tell him to see to it that we get a confession from her over exactly who it was that gave her the false confidence to go against my wishes."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" the ANBU agent responded, walking into the office and closing the door behind himself.

Moments later they heard a high pitched scream followed by the sound of air being displaced by a Shunshin.

"Do you think he used his Kikaichu Shunshin on her?" Ookami asked with a hidden smirk.

"It would at least put her in the right mood for where she is going," Sarutobi growled.

Noticing a woman in civilian garb standing nearby he recognized her as one of the orphanage staff and flagged her over. Although she was obviously nervous to be in their presence, especially after overhearing the words said there in the hallway just moments ago, the dark haired young woman did come over when asked.

"Is there something that I can do for you, Lord Hokage?" the young woman asked.

"Yes there is, miss?" the Hokage probed.

"Asami," she answered.

"Thank you, Asami," he smiled, trying to calm her down. "I need you to bring us to Naruto Uzumaki's old room. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course!" Asami responded, glancing first at Ookami, then down at the large ninken standing next to the ANBU agent. "Right this way, please?"

Following the nervous young woman down the hall they were lead to the back of the building, their path bringing them past the open door of the kitchen and the sounds and smells of lunch being prepared for the children. In the middle of that hall was a single closed door, seeming almost forgotten between the kitchen and a large bathroom at the end of the hall. Asami opened the door and stood to the side in case they needed anything else from her, allowing them to enter the room.

To their dismay the entire room was stripped bare, the windows on the far wall standing open to help air out the smell of disinfectant cleaners. It was obvious that the furniture had recently been moved, as there were spots on the waxed wooden floor where the feet of a dresser once stood to one side, with marks from where a chair had been in front of a desk against the other wall.

"I apologize, Lord Hokage," Asami said from outside the room. "Matron Wamura had the cleaning staff come in early this morning and remove everything from the room and put into the incinerator, even the clothes and pictures."

"And the furniture?" Ookami asked, watching Kuromaru wander around the empty floor trying to catch a good scent. "They even took out the furniture?"

"It was... highly unusual," Asami nodded, looking sad.

"Wait, taken to the incinerator... damn it!" Sarutobi growled. "They just completed the mission to burn everything in the incinerator before we got here. If only we were a bit quicker..."

"There was no way for us to know, Lord Hokage," Ookami said, examining the underside of the window sill. "Just because it made our job harder doesn't mean it made is impossible. Oi, Kuromaru, come here will ya?"

Looking over at his partner, the ninken swiveled his right ear at the tone on her voice, the left ear missing from a previous battle. Nails clicked on the wooden floor as he trotted the few feet to her side to see what she was looking at, watching as she pulled out one of her kunai and dug something out from beneath the wooden board of the window sill.

After a few moments of careful digging to make sure that she did not damage her find she was finally able to slip a piece of paper from where it had been carefully wedged between the boards, revealing a small and slightly worn looking photograph of a young girl. Kuromaru spent several moments sniffing at the edge of the paper to see if he could get a good scent from it before nodding to the Inuzuka.

"I think that was enough for me to recognize his scent," Kuromaru growled out in a deep chested voice.

"D-did that dog just talk?" Asami stuttered in shock, staring at the smiling face of the wolf like ninken.

"Yeah, Kuromaru here sure is awesome, isn't he?" Ookami said, smirk hidden behind her ANBU mask. "Smarter than my ex husband, that's for sure. Hey, do you recognize the girl in this picture?"

"Let me see," the younger woman asked, reaching for the picture.

Asami spent a few moments examining the picture in the light of the open window, careful to hold it by its edges to as not to disturb the evidence. Recognition spread across her face when she saw the twin buns on top of the dark haired girl's head, and the familiar trim of a qipao-style blouse.

"That looks like Tenten," she told them. "She and Naruto were good friends and always hung out together, at least until she was finally adopted. He must have missed her terribly to have hidden a picture of her like this in his room. He tended to put his bedroll beneath the window here, so this would have been close at hand while he asleep."

Nodding to himself the Hokage remembered the young girl from his visits to the orphanage over the last year. She had never been far away during those visits, almost as if she were looking out for Naruto like a big sister, making sure that the Hokage didn't do anything to hurt the boy.

"We had better get started on following the boy's trail," Ookami told him, interrupting his thoughts. "It looks like it might rain soon, and that would make it a pain in the ass to try and track the boy down."

"Very well," Sarutobi nodded. "I will return to my office and allow you to continue your search. Report to me once you are done, with or without Naruto."

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Ookami said, bowing quickly before running to catch up with her partner who had already departed the room following the faint trail left by the boy the night before.

Sarutobi took the small picture from Asami's hand and looked at it himself, recognizing the young girl in the picture from the last time he had visited the Higurashi weapons shop to get some replacement kunai. He was glad that the girl had managed to get adopted by the shop owner, as Dan Higurashi was one of the most dependable men he knew. She would be happy in her new home, and Sarutobi only wished he could say the same for young Naruto.

Taking one last look at the picture he carefully placed it within a hidden pocket in his Hokage robes, dismissing the young staff woman with a nod before returning to his office with a quick Shunshin. There was little he could do at this point but wait, and hope.

* * *

Kuromaru led the way back through the halls of the orphanage, ignoring the excited shouts from the children as seeing the big dog wander through the building. With all of the children present it would be next to impossible to catch any true trail, which was compounded by the fact that Naruto had lived here for nearly five years before getting kicked out late last night.

Their search truly began when they reached the front gates, when the ninken's keen nose found the spot that Naruto had spent some time standing in after being removed from the building, forcing Ookami to have to jog to keep up with her partner as he broke into an ambling trot, pausing here and there to make sure that they were still following the right path.

It was common knowledge among ninja that your scent trail was not some magical line drawn upon the ground as you moved, it tended to move on its own, pooling in low lying areas and spots of shade and damp. Even though the boy had not touched the gutter of that house, and had not spend any time on the porch of another, the subtle clues that Kuromaru's nose found there let them know that they were on the right path.

One of the prime skills of a tracker, other than a good ninken with a strong nose, was understanding what was going on in the mind of the person that you were following. That was why it was often so difficult to follow someone who was suffering from a mental illness or had some injury that was addling their senses.

As they passed through the heart of the village they were greeted by the sight of people cleaning up from last night's festivities, taking down decorations and sweeping debris from the cluttered main roads. Temporary shop stalls made of wood and canvas were in the process of being broken down for transport, the merchants that owned them shouting orders at the young men and women doing the back breaking work for them.

At one point one of the merchants shouted in surprise when they took a step back and tumbled over the strong back of Kuromaru, falling onto the muddy pavement with a thump that knocked the wind from their chest. Rolling back to their feet, the rotund merchant looked down at the muddy water now staining their colorful clothes, and turned to raise a fist at the ninken before seeing the porcelain mask of the ANBU staring at them.

"Ah, heh, no harm done, right?" the merchant muttered, lowering his hand and brushing the front of his clothes as if that was what he meant to do all along. "Nothing a little washing can't take care of... I'll just be, ah, over there..."

Rolling their eyes at the man's panicked retreat, the two of them continued following the missing child's trail through the village streets until their trail eventually led them to the target practice field in front of the Ninja Academy. It took several moments for the ANBU to wrack her brain to figure out why the child would have come here, when there were better places to take shelter in the alleyways they had passed by.

Sudden realization filled Ookami, bringing an unfamiliar ache to her chest when she realized that the pup must have remembered coming here during last year's festival to see the puppet show with the Hokage. He must have thought that the Hokage would be there again this year, and had gone in search of him.

"He didn't spend long here," Kuromaru muttered to her, sniffing a patch of grass that carried the boy's scent.

"No, he wouldn't have to, once he realized that Hokage wasn't here," she nodded. "Let's see if we can find out where he went next, shall we?"

Nodding, the ninken spent several moments finding the trail again, heading down some of the narrower streets that ran parallel to the heart of the village they had passed through earlier during their trek. Luckily for the child had hugged close to the walls at this part of his journey, often brushing against them and leaving a strong trail for Kuromaru to follow.

People were quick to get out of their way when they saw the ANBU trailing behind the large black ninken, giving them free passage as they followed this trail for several blocks before coming to a stop next to a small tavern. Several shards of broken pottery littered the ground here, and there was an obvious stain from cheap alcohol on the wall from where a jug hat been thrown.

"What can you tell me?" Ookami asked her partner.

"He stopped here for quite some time, perhaps several minutes, before moving on," Kuromaru muttered to her, searching the immediate area with his nose. "Judging from how the cheap drink hit the wall and ground, the boy was already on the ground when the jug was thrown. I don't smell any blood, so I doubt he was physically hurt, but the scent of despair is thick in the air here."

"This tavern is the closest place to get a cheap drink if you live near the part of town that had to get rebuilt after the Kyuubi attack," Ookami noted. "I'd be surprised if it didn't smell like despair here, especially after the festival last night reminded everyone of what they had lost."

"I never did understand the purpose of this festival," Kuromaru said, looking at her with his yellow eyes. "Why celebrate on the anniversary of a great loss?"

"Because it was a great victory as well," Ookami said, looking at one of the fox and badger banners that still hung from a nearby building. "It's a reminder that even though we did suffer great losses, our village still stands, and there is new life to be celebrated."

Shaking his head at the silly human sentiment, the ninken picked up the next scent marker, leading them away from the silent tavern towards the outskirts of the village.

A drop of water landed in Ookami's spiky hair, causing her to pause for a moment and look up at the gray clouds overhead, noticing that they had become much darker even though the hidden sun had risen well above the horizon by this point. Another drop of water joined the first, before the skies seemed to open up above them in a sudden and heavy rainfall.

"Great, wet fur," Ookami muttered to herself, looking back down at her companion. "Luckily that nose of yours isn't bothered by a bit of rain, right?"

Kuromaru huffed at her before bending his nose back to the ground, easily following the trail in spite of the weather. Wet paws splashed in the occasional growing puddle as he led her further away from the center of the village, soon nearing the large earthen walls that loomed overhead as they approached. It was looking more and more as if they would not find the boy within the village itself, but Kuromaru had not mentioned finding any other scents following their path, making it unlikely that someone had taken the child in the night.

A pair of Chuunin guards stood watch over the narrow gates that led out into the forested hills outside Konoha, one of them standing under an umbrella with a smirk on his face, ignoring the glare aimed at him from the other guard. After all, it wasn't his fault that the other man hadn't thought to grab an umbrella after looking outside and seeing the clouds there.

Ookami didn't even pause as she walked past the pair, her mask and ANBU armor all the identification she needed to pass as she followed behind her partner.

Even though she was doing a good job of hiding it, she was worried about the boy they were following. A lot could go wrong in just one night, and the forests outside the village were not the safest place to be if you were a five year old child. It had gotten bitter cold last night, the first warning that this winter was going to be an unpleasant one. For a five year old the cold would have been unbearable, especially if he didn't have proper clothes to wear, and the heavy winds last night would have stripped the heat right out of his small body.

Last month had been unusually dry, causing a heavy carpet of fallen leaves to pool in the low places of the forest, a riot of orange red and gold coloring the woods around them. Normally this would have been a boon for them in their hunt for the child, as his scent would have been blown into these low places and stuck there, trapped beneath the leaves. Unfortunately the winds last night had moved everything around, and Kuromaru was having a hard time finding out where the boy had gone.

They had just begun to despair until he caught a fresh scent on the bare bark of a tree where the boy must have leaned there, tired from the long walk. Hope renewed they searched the immediate area, ignoring how the heavy rainfall was turning the once dry leaves into a slippery morass beneath their feet.

It soon became apparent that the boy had wandered in circles for a bit at this point, leaving small clues here and there throughout the area, often crossing his own path several times. Navigating a forest could be difficult without training, and doing so at night had obviously been too much of a task for a five year old suffering in the cold.

Normally they would not have this much trouble tracking a small child through the woods, but there was one important factor working against them. Most scent trails were made by the constant fall of dead skin cells shed by the body as you move, and the scent they followed was from the natural decomposition of these cells, which were unique enough in scent for the trained ninken to match it from one spot to the next.

Unfortunately for them, the small trace of Youki that traveled through the Jinchuuriki's body caused his dead skin cells to decompose much faster than anyone else's, making it hard to find all but the best clues. By the time that they had reached the woods it had been over twelve hours since the boy had been sent away from the orphanage, and the combination of strong winds moving the leaves the night before and the heavy rain were doing their best to destroy any chance they had for finding the trail.

They had to come to a final stop in a small valley overlooked by a large tree, the entrance to a small badger sett visible part of the way up the hill. Noticing that this was the only obvious shelter in the area, Kuromaru loped over and stuck his nose inside for several moments before pulling his head back.

"I think he might have crawled in there at some point last night, but I don't smell him in there any longer," Kuromaru told her, trotting back to her side. "There are a couple of badgers inside there, but no human children that I can smell."

"Dammit," Ookami said, her shoulders slumping. "This is the first time we haven't found someone in years. Why did it have to be now, why this boy?"

Kuromaru had no answer for her question, but he did feel his own kind of guilt, having failed to find the pup. He wished there was something he could say or do to make his partner happy, but short of finding the boy he did not have any ideas.

"Let's... let's search around a bit more," Ookami said, looking around the forest. "Maybe there is something we missed."

"As you wish."

* * *

They had failed.

After several more hours spent combing the woods for any clues of the boy's presence, they had been forced to return to the Hokage's office with nothing to show for their efforts other than rain soaked fur and clothes covered in mud and leaves. When Tsume took off her ANBU mask it was obvious to see that she had been crying, the skin around her eyes puffy and red as she locked eyes with the Hokage.

She had reported all of their findings, describing every step of their search as they had followed the boy's trail through the village. She told him about the boy's visit to the Academy grounds and her suspicions that Naruto had been looking for him there before he had wandered through the back streets of the village before ending up in the forests outside Konoha. She told him how the trail had faded, unlike any other trail that they had followed before.

She told him that they had failed.

Sarutobi sighed as he sat back in his chair, fighting the tears that threatened to spill from his own eyes as the sound of rain hammering the windows filled his office. Looking out at the storm that hovered over his village, he imagined that the skies themselves were crying at their loss, before shaking himself out of his moment of depression.

Even though they had failed to find young Naruto, they had also failed to find the boy dead as well. From what he understood about the seal, the Kyuubi would have already escaped and begun rampaging again if the boy had died, so he could only assume from the lack of destruction raining down on them that Naruto was indeed alive.

Unfortunately they couldn't spare the numbers needed to fully comb the forests for the missing child, even if they could afford the attention that would bring to the fact that they had managed to lose him in the first place. They would have to keep his absence unknown for as long as possible, in the hopes that the boy would show back up before it became an issue.

A plan began to form in the Hokage's head.

They would spread the rumor that the Hokage had rented an apartment for Naruto somewhere in the village, and have some of the most trusted ANBU Henge into the child so that they could be sighted around the village. In the mean time they would keep an ear out for any rumors or sightings that would lead them to where Naruto might be.

At this point it was more important that they make sure that the boy was healthy and safe than it was to return him to the orphanage, even though it should be safe enough now that that poisonous woman was out of there and in the hands of T&I. He could only imagine how horrible this experience was for the five year old child, and he hoped that this did not scar the boy for life.

Still, since the child was not only an Uzumaki, he was also the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Both factors combined meant that the child had better than even odds of surviving in the wilderness so long as at least some shelter and food could be found.

Hearing Tsume shift uncomfortably reminded him of her presence.

"Neither of you did anything wrong," Sarutobi told them. "I had a feeling that tracking him down would be difficult, which is why I chose the best tracker in all of Konoha for the task. If you were unable to find him, then nobody could."

"I... thank you for your kind words, Lord Hokage," Tsume said in a formal tone. "But it still feels like I failed you... and Naruto."

"If we hear any rumors about his whereabouts I will make sure that you are immediately informed," Sarutobi assured her. "For your efforts today you will be given pay matching an A-Ranked mission, and a few days off to spend with your children."

Blinking her tired eyes in surprise, the woman gratefully accepted this offer, having imagined her own son Kiba lost alone in the woods like that while searching for Naruto. She felt guilty leaving him in the care of his sister Hana for as long as she did, and having a few days off would allow her to make it up to her family. No doubt they would get tired of her gruff attitude after the first day, but that was also what part of being family was about.

Sarutobi suddenly laughed, breaking her from her thoughts with a puzzled frown on her face.

"I can just imagine Naruto walking through the gates a few months from now," the Hokage chuckled, "covered in sticks and mud, asking to be taken to Ichiraku's for ramen because he's hungry,"

They both knew it was hopeful thinking, but it still brought a chuckle from Tsume and Kuromaru as well.

* * *

Unknown to them, Naruto was exactly where the trail had ended, deep in the heart of the badger sett. When Hachimitsu had begun channeling her Yin chakra through him setting off the chain reaction through the roots of the chakra tree the first of many changes had taken place, causing his new scent to fool the keen nose of the highly trained ninken.

And so, young Naruto slept, not knowing how close he had come to being returned to the Hokage's side.


End file.
